Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. --Daniel 1:12
There’s a story told about a man who visits a church in Puerto Rico. He does not speak Spanish so he decides to do whatever the man next to him does. The Pastor starts speaking and the man sitting next to him stands so he does too. Everyone laughs. After the service the Pastor comes and asks if he speaks Spanish and the man confirms that he doesn’t. “Good,” the Pastor replies, “I announced that Tia Rosa had a baby and I asked for the father to stand” This humorous story illustrates the danger in following the lead of a person or a crowd as opposed to finding the courage to follow your beliefs.
In our scripture 4 young Hebrew boys – Daniel, Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego have been asked to eat the king’s food --food that according to their religious customs had been defiled. Daniel resists and asks if they can eat their own food for ten days to prove that they will fare as well as the boys eating the king’s food. After the ten days are up, they appear to be healthier and better fed than the others. In our society the pressure to conform is great both for the young and the old. It is easier to follow the crowd and not risk being singled out, ridiculed, branded or ostracized. Trust God to fight your battles and to count your obedience as righteousness. Be yourself in the Lord and don’t let anyone cause you to deny what you know to be right.
Resist the temptation to follow the world. What the world seeks is temporary and meaningless. Set your sights on things eternal and be yourself today.
Deacon Larry Woodard
There’s a story told about a man who visits a church in Puerto Rico. He does not speak Spanish so he decides to do whatever the man next to him does. The Pastor starts speaking and the man sitting next to him stands so he does too. Everyone laughs. After the service the Pastor comes and asks if he speaks Spanish and the man confirms that he doesn’t. “Good,” the Pastor replies, “I announced that Tia Rosa had a baby and I asked for the father to stand” This humorous story illustrates the danger in following the lead of a person or a crowd as opposed to finding the courage to follow your beliefs.
In our scripture 4 young Hebrew boys – Daniel, Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego have been asked to eat the king’s food --food that according to their religious customs had been defiled. Daniel resists and asks if they can eat their own food for ten days to prove that they will fare as well as the boys eating the king’s food. After the ten days are up, they appear to be healthier and better fed than the others. In our society the pressure to conform is great both for the young and the old. It is easier to follow the crowd and not risk being singled out, ridiculed, branded or ostracized. Trust God to fight your battles and to count your obedience as righteousness. Be yourself in the Lord and don’t let anyone cause you to deny what you know to be right.
Resist the temptation to follow the world. What the world seeks is temporary and meaningless. Set your sights on things eternal and be yourself today.
Deacon Larry Woodard
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