In Daniel 1:8 Daniel had purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself. This is very encouraging. What I see here is that Daniel was not a Babylonian. He's been taken from his homeland against his will; it was prophesied that this would happen because of the sin of the people. Daniel didn't necessarily sin, he just happened to be born during a time that this would happen. So here he is, with a new name, in a new kingdom that does not encourage the worship of Yahweh, but pagan gods. Everything is going wrong for Daniel externally.
Everything is going wrong, but still he's choosing to do right. He's choosing to still live by his convictions and to give honor to God in a culture that could care less about what he believed and why he believed it. Daniel was taken to a place against his will, now he's in the royal courts of the King. Daniel didn't want to defile himself. He didn't want to become contaminated. His heart said I don't want to be contaminated. My heart says I don't want to contaminate myself with what the world is taking in. The world is taking in a lot of things, it's their culture. But, I don't have to. I don't have to take in the delicacies of the prince of the power of the heir.
Daniel recognized that taking in the king's delicacies would result in him defiling himself. Although Daniel was in the Kingdom of Babylon he was not of the Kingdom of Babylon. Daniel still lived by the culture of the Kingdom of God even though he was in a kingdom that was diametrically opposed to the things of God. Daniel did not leave his culture; on the contrary he brought his culture with him, because, he was a product of his culture. Many times we will be faced leaving one location in order to go to another one.
Keep in mind that what you believe and why you believe it according goes with you. It goes with you into the very place and or situation that you find yourself. Not for the sake of simply retaining the information, but bringing that experience and that lifestyle into new places so that the place you're in will ultimately become affected by the culture you live by. May that be our goal as sons and daughters of the most high God. May we all dare to denounce defilement, which we may live to give honor to our King.
Source: www.isnare.com
