Deeper Reflection
There are diverse views¹⁸ on why Daniel would “defile himself ” should he partake the Babylonian king’s food and wine, but “there is not enough information available to us to be certain”¹⁹ about it. What is clear and central in the Daniel 1 story is Daniel’s faithfulness to God. And this faithfulness bears two vital characteristics.Decisiveness for God: “Daniel made up his mind” – literally, “set his heart”. It is an intense attitude. It shows that for Daniel, eating the king’s food and drinking his wine or not was a weighty matter. It seems that it was a line that he must not cross, no matter what – whatever that line might be. “Follow Me” (Matt 4:19) is commitment to the Lord. It is a decisive commitment, marked by no turning back. Turning back is always a clear and present danger. And turning back occurs in the “heart”. Thus, this decisive commitment must be renewed daily in our hearts (2 Cor 4:16) and minds (Rom 12:2). This is what our daily devotions are fundamentally about.Distinctiveness in Babylon: “he would not defile himself ” (v.8). This defilement is defilement by Babylon – the world. We live much of our life, not inside the church, but in the pluralistic, secular world outside, where we can be defiled by its worldviews and values, and where we are to live faithfully to God. It means to live counterculturally. The positive side of “not defile himself ” is distinctiveness in the world: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed” (Rom 12:2). “Faithful Christian living in a secular environment should be distinctive.”²⁰

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¹⁸ See John E. Goldingay, 18-19 ¹⁹ Gordon Wong, 3 ²⁰ Gordon Wong, 9