Dare To Be A Daniel

Over the past two weeks, my kids and I have been studying the book of Daniel.  We’ve talked in-depth about the captivity of the young Hebrew men and the emotions they must’ve felt as they were carried off to the foreign, pagan land of Babylon.  We speculated that they probably felt scared, vulnerable, angry, sorrowful, homesick, etc.  We tried to put ourselves in their places and imagine what if would be like if some foreign government landed on American soil and began capturing and carrying away all of the healthy young men and women.  As a mom, it’s a scenario that makes me shudder.  Yet, it was a very real event in the lives of the mothers of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.  While Scripture doesn’t clue us in as to the names of the mothers of these boys, it certainly reveals a lot about the way they raised these young men were before they were enslaved.  

Check out Daniel 1:8:

“But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.” Daniel 1:8

This verse jumps out at me as a hint of Daniel’s home life, pre-Babylon.  Not only did it require incredible boldness for him to speak out against eating the king’s food, it required trust that God would take care of him and his three friends.  So, how did he get to be so bold and courageous?  We can only speculate, but I believe these four young Hebrew men were brought up in homes where a fear of the Lord was present and utmost respect for God’s commands was imperative.  Given the outcome of their lives, it seems logical to postulate that their mothers placed great importance on the Scriptures.  

We’re familiar with he saying that “children are a product of their environment;” I suspect it rings true in the lives of these men.  They didn’t decide to be men of character and integrity after they arrived in Babylon.  Rather, these traits were assuredly etched on their hearts from a very young age.  It’s apparent that these young men were taught to honor God with their minds, bodies and worship.  In fact, Daniel didn’t seem  concerned with what anyone thought of him,  He understood that God’s opinion is the only one that counts.  

Considering a passage like this inspires and challenges me to continue sowing seeds of faith into my children’s hearts.  I want them to be able to fearlessly stand strong for the Lord, pursue purity, and reject the “banquet” the world lays at their feet.  My desire is for them to truly know God and be able to trust Him even when difficult choices have to be made.  

Daniel provides so many opportune teaching moments on what it means to wholeheartedly follow the Lord and I pray that my kids will be inspired as we continue to study his extraordinary life.  

**What are some ways you can instill in your children a life of devotion to the Lord?

**If “children are a product of their environment”, are there things in your home that need to go in order for your family to better honor God?

**Think of a time when you had to make a difficult choice and share with your children how God gave you wisdom and saw you through.

Raising Daniels

“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." Daniel 3: 16-18 (NIV)

It had been an extremely fun, but busy day for our family. Earlier that morning we decided to make a last minute trip to the beach with some friends and enjoy this summery, spring weather. With two small kids this is often no small feat. We had to gather swim gear, pack towels, blankets, chairs, umbrellas, and of course, lunch. On top of that we made a quick stop by my aunt’s house to pick up my little cousin who was on spring break. Then, we had to go to the grocery store to buy sandwiches, snacks, and sunscreen. It was an eventful day, and it was only 10 in the morning! Surprisingly although the sun was hot, the breeze was cold, and the water was even colder—perhaps this is why we stayed so long and literally baked in the sun.
Afterall, we “felt” cool the whole time.

After the beach, I realized that we needed to make another run to the store to buy stuff for dinner. Afterall, we could not buy it before because it would have gone bad in the car while we were at the beach. While we were in the store, I realized that we would have to make another stop to another grocery store because this store did not have a few key items that we needed. Once we made it to that second store, a shopping trip for a few items turned into shopping for a great deal of items because we were now shopping while hungry. LOL :) We were all tired. Oh yeah, did I mention that I am expecting, and I was beyond done for the day? So…as we gladly made our way to the car, I looked under the car-style shopping cart and realized that I had forgotten that I had placed a couple of items underneath the cart. Ahhhh! We needed to go back inside. I had a decision: Tell Publix I owed them next time we went to the store (this option was enticing)…or turn around right then with the kids and go back to pay for the “hidden” groceries. I chose the latter.

I know this is a small decision amidst the many larger ones in life, but this got me thinking about modeling right behavior for our kids even when we don’t feel like it, and when we think no one is watching. Well, we returned to the store to pay for the groceries, but there was no “Great job…what honesty Mom!” from the cashier. She simply looked tired and a bit annoyed. There was no congrats for doing the right thing and saving the store she worked for lost revenue, but still my kids were watching and they knew why Mommy was going back into the store yet again.

Linda Anderson did a segment on “Raising Daniels” in her Mom to Mom video series. She outlined the maturity of Daniel and his comrades from the Bible, and she highlighted that Daniel walked with integrity, honesty, and self-discipline. There was such a wealth of knowledge that she shared with us, and for the sake of time I will not go into all the details. But some of the main points were as follows:

• Integrity: model it and give your kids windows into your choices. Also, put positive peer pressure to work for you—get them involved in your church youth group, etc.
• Honesty: Put a high premium on it, and reward truth-telling even in the face of consequences.
• Self-discipline: Since “smaller disciplines prepare for bigger decisions”, help your kids practice delayed gratification and advance decision-making (i.e. help them establish a plan or guide post before they get into “the situation”). Give them the security of rules and boundaries and the reasons “why” when you can. Also, provide smaller consequences to prevent larger ones.

Last but not least, she reemphasized that we should model self-discipline in our own lives—with our time, money, eating, language, etc. So Mom, how are you doing? I know I could stand to brush up in a few areas. I often need to manage my time better. I tend to do too much too often. What about you? In what ways can you model integrity, honesty, and self-discipline to your kids?

Challenge: Reflect on your own life. Where do you need to improve? What windows to your choices can you let your children peer into?

Further reading: Daniel 3:1-30

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, you are perfect and full of love for your children. Help us to be imitators of you, not for our own glory, but for yours. May we grow in our integrity, honesty, and self-discipline. Please point out the ways in which we can model You to our kids and a watching world. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.