Articles
Daniel’s Integrity
We love Daniel for many things; his story gives us so many lessons, perhaps none as important as when he faced the lions’ den. All through his life we see Daniel’s integrity, but most especially in this event.
Daniel was an exiled Jew, living in a Babylon recently conquered by the Medes and Persians. Darius is now king, and he immediately notices the character of the likely 80-plus-year-old Daniel (6:1-3). Already one of the three most important men in the empire, Daniel is in line to become the next prime minister. Things could not have been brighter for this foreigner, but Daniel’s success could not have made his life tougher.
Growing jealous of Daniel’s favored position, the other commissioners and satraps begin trying to find grounds for accusing Daniel (6:4). Sifting through his life, they hope to find any speck of dirt they can use against him. They go through his files, eavesdrop on his conversations, tail him for twenty-four hours a day, but find not one crumb of corruption. Daniel’s life is clean. Because he was obedient to God’s law he was also found blameless under man’s law (6:5). Therefore, Daniel’s accusers convinced Darius to sign a decree that for thirty days it would be unlawful to pray to any god or man other than the king. The penalty for violators would be death.
The king doesn’t realize the predicament this would cause for Daniel.
Daniel had to choose between obeying man’s laws or praying to God–and knowing what the penalty would be (6:10). By continuing his practice of prayer, he risks everything: his job, his house, his prestige, and his life. That takes integrity. True to his character, Daniel prays, and his conspirators waste little time informing the king of Daniel’s disobedience. As a result the king arrested Daniel and places him in a den of lions.
Is this where a life of integrity and blamelessness takes us? To a lion’s den? Sometimes. Doing what is right may cost us our life, though God delivered Daniel by closing the mouths of the lions and no harm came to him (6:22-23).
Two thoughts from this lesson:
- True integrity implies that you do what is right when no one is looking or when everyone else is compromising.
- Real integrity stays in place whether the test is adversity or prosperity, good times or bad.
