Complying with Authority

   When you do not want to do something that you have been told to do or what you are being required to do, is contrary to a conviction you have, how do you react?  In my experience and from what I have observed others doing, the vast majority of times we either react angrily or refuse to comply.  Is that how spiritual leaders should react?

   In Daniel 1, Daniel and his three friends are faced with an issue where they do not want to compromise (verses 6-14).  They do not want to defile or compromise on the food that the King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar is giving all the young men whom have been brought out of Judah to live in the king’s court.  The food and wine goes against how the four friends have been brought up in their Hebrew homes as the families followed the Levitical laws for their diets. 

   Perhaps the most intriguing part of this portion of Daniel’s life is how he handled this conflict.   Remember he is a young man, possibly an older teenager.  Yet the wisdom that he shows is beyond his years.  Instead of complaining, grumbling or slandering about the leadership, Daniel goes to the one who have been given charge or authority over the young men and lets the chief official know what the issue is.  The sense we are given is Daniel did this calmly and under control.  There is also a relationship that had been established between Daniel and the official as the ...