Doing What Is Right When No One Is Around. Leaving the Nest 8/14/2016

Good Morning,

Last night a neighbor was chiding me about how I always write about whatever delicious coffee I am dinking in the morning. It's a long story of love that led me to drink Door County Coffee and so I smile as I drink this cup of Cherry Crème today and recall falling in love with my wife all over again 6 years ago.

Daniel’s Training in Babylon

1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. ² And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his god.

³ Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility— ⁴ young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. ⁵ The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service.
⁶ Among those who were chosen were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. ⁷ The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.
⁸ But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. ⁹ Now God had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel, ¹⁰ but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.”
¹¹ Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, ¹² “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. ¹³ Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.” ¹⁴ So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.
¹⁵ At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. ¹⁶ So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead

Daniel was a young man of Israel and was now a captive of Babylon. He was told to eat things that for the Jewish folks would defile. His family was gone, and most of the other Jews had already given in except for three of his buddies. So, you see they were not the majority. Peer pressure did not make these guys cave in. Now Daniel was respectful and wasn't obnoxious with the authorities over him.  He did however know right from wrong. You could also tell from this passage that Daniel knew the word of God. He had no one in "religious authority" to hold him accountable. From this you can also tell that He loved God and also feared Him.

Daniel and his buddies were determined to do what was right and in a respectful way took their stand and God moved on their behalf.

It is almost September and soon many first time young men and women will be leaving home to pursue college educations. A lot of temptations will be coming their way. Some of them are not as grounded as Daniel and his buddies. These newbies will meet new people and be free from the watchful eye of mom and dad. Most will be ok and do fine, but some others will be swallowed up by the freedoms and choices they encounter now. Will they do what is right or will they give in to peer pressure?

If you know someone who is experiencing this for the first time, they should be on your prayer list. Many a good kid fails out in that first year of school and they take a long time to recover from the mistakes of that "semester" of knowing what is right but not doing it.

So dear friends, broaden your prayer horizons and include those you know who are leaving the nest. Pray for them and their parents. If you know them well enough send them a card of encouragement and be bold enough to share this blog with them or some Godly advice.

Love to all and if you are in the neighborhood, well, the coffee is on.

Marty