-Looking After The Needs Of Others!

(NOTE: This Continues A Series Of Posts On Daniel’s Life)

When Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar threatened to kill all his counselors & wisemen because they were unable to tell the King what he had dreamed, something significant happened that can easily be overlooked. The text says that Daniel came to Arioch, the King’s executioner; and, it implies that he came in a hurry & he tells him: “Don’t kill the wise men of Babylon!” (See Daniel 2:24-26) Why is that significant? Because Daniel—rather than simply fearing for his own life—took time to look out for the needs of others!

-Doctrine Ought To Change Us!

Daniel truly believed that God was Sovereign; so, he didn’t have to fear the future! That’s how “doctrine” changes our life when we truly believe it! We said, in our last post, that the King suffered from “chronophobia”—the FEAR of the future! And, when you’re consumed by the fear of the future, you become pre-occupied with your own life. It was easy for Nebuchadnezzar to just throw away his counselors and discard them once he’d tapped their usefulness. But, because Daniel didn’t live in the fear of the future, he could take the time to love people. I really believe that this act of kindness is a significant part of Daniel’s story that we usually overlook!

-Every Person Is A Soul!

Daniel could have been concerned only with his life & the lives of his 3 friends; but, he showed care and concern for others—even the King’s ungodly counselors, because they were souls who needed saving! He wasn’t so preoccupied with his own needs that he ignored the needs of others. There’s an application here for us—if we live in fear of the future, we’ll probably be so preoccupied with ourselves that we’ll miss all the souls that God is directing across our path! And, King Nebuchadnezzar was one such soul that God had caused to divinely intersect with Daniel. In the next section, it says, “Daniel answered the king: ‘No wise man, medium, diviner-priest, or astrologer is able to make known to the king the mystery he asked about. But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries…” (2:27-29). There is a God in heaven; and, Daniel took the time to introduce Nebuchadnezzar to Him! “Time”—something our culture claims it doesn’t have!

-We Need To Get Over Ourselves!

There’s another application here that our Western church desperately needs to apply—if we’re going to be faithful to Jesus’ “Great Commission”, it’s going to take time! Time to love people! Time to disciple people! The “Narcissim” of the dominant culture has had a “trickle down effect” on the Church—we’ve become self-centered & self-absorbed just like the world! Our obsession for chasing after the selfishness of the “American Dream” has become a NIGHTMARE for finishing the “disciple making” task we’ve been given! If we’re TOO BUSY to make disciples, we’re TOO BUSY! That’s disobedience! If necessary, let’s remove some of the things from our schedule so we have room to add people—we’ve been mandated to disciple souls for Christ; and, He’s left us no wiggle room to get out of it! Let us love on people!