In 605 BC, after defeating the Egyptians in the battle of Carchemish, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon surrounded Jerusalem with his army, and the LORD gave King Jehoiakim into his hands. In order to avoid complete destruction of Jerusalem, Jehoiakim paid Nebuchadnezzar tribute by giving him money from the temple treasury and by giving him some of the youth of the royal family and nobility as captives. Daniel and his three friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, were taken from their homes and their family and forced to serve King Nebuchadnezzar in a foreign land. Not only did it take 4 to 5 months to get to Babylon, but Babylon was different from Judah in just about every way. They spoke a different language, ate different food, upheld different cultural values, and they served a different god.

When Daniel and his three friends came to Babylon they were put into a 3-year program and were taught and trained to speak, think, and act like the Babylonians. Their indoctrination was so intense that they were only allowed to eat the food given to them by the king. They were even given new names. King Nebuchadnezzar was trying to change the very identity of these young men so that they could better serve his purposes. Daniel and his three friends had a decision to make. Would they collapse under the pressure all around them, sacrificing their true identity and conforming to Babylon’s standards, or would they stand firm and be who God had created them to be?

When you step onto your college or high school campus, you are stepping into a world that doesn’t talk like Jesus, think like Jesus, or act like Jesus. Like Daniel and his friends who were pressured to conform to the Babylonian ways, you will be pressured in many ways by your classmates, coaches, and teachers to conform to their standards. The enemy of your soul (Satan) is going to try to change your identity and redefine who you are so that you can better serve his purposes. There will be times when you are made fun of, left out, and feel all alone. Like Daniel and his three friends, you will have a choice to make: join the crowd and conform, or stand strong and shine like the stars forever and ever.

Daniel 1:8 says, But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank.

Daniel resolved to not defile himself. 

To resolve is to decide or determine, to set one’s face to do something. Even though it looked good, tasted delicious, and everyone else was eating it, Daniel firmly decided that he would not defile himself with the king’s food and drink. 

To defile is to make something unclean, to make impure, to pollute. When we copy the ways of the world– when we talk like they talk, think like they think, and act like they act we become impure, unclean, and polluted. We stop shining.

There are going to be a lot of things that look good and seem like a lot of fun, and the popular people are all going to be doing it, but those things defile our hearts. They make our hearts dirty and separate us from God. 

Those who shine like the stars forever and ever resolve to not defile themselves with things that make them unclean in God’s eyes.

In what ways will you live resolute to not defile yourself this semester? (In other words, how will you live differently from those who are not serving Jesus?) 

Pray: Father, help me to be resolute to not defile myself. Keep my heart and hands pure for You. Jesus, help me to be like You in how I think, speak, and act. Holy Spirit, help me to be holy. Amen.