Change the World

⁶ So these governors and satraps thronged before the king, and said thus to him: “King Darius, live forever! ⁷ All the governors of the kingdom, the administrators and satraps, the counselors and advisors, have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree, that whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. ⁸ Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter.” ⁹ Therefore King Darius signed the written decree.¹⁰ Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days. - Daniel 6:6-10 

     I think there is a valuable lesson to be learned from Daniel in this passage. I love how he receives word of the decree and then just continues his daily routine. The laws and schemes of men do not deter Daniel from his praise and worship of the Lord. Daniel is not running away to hide. Daniel is not freaking out and crying to God for help. Daniel is simply trusting that God will honor His promises as long as Daniel honors his. I also believe that there is a much deeper lesson to learn from this situation. Look again at Daniel's response. He simply continues following God's plan for his life. He keeps his faithful testimony and focuses on worshiping God and doing what he knows is right. Daniel does not go before the king and stage a protest. He doesn't start a heated debate with those responsible for the decree. He doesn't go into the streets and plead his innocence. Daniel actually does nothing to specifically address the situation. I feel that many Christians today have their priorities wrong. We spend so much time and energy trying to make our mark in politics. We stage protests of abortion and gay marriage and a hundred other social issues with which don't agree. We try to change the world from the outside-in, which is impossible. Daniel realized that King Darius and these governors were pagans who did not follow the law of the Lord. He did not expect them to act like Christians. Daniel knew that these men did not honor God and most likely expected persecution from them. Daniel just stayed true to God's plan. We need to focus on God's plan for the world around us. What is this plan? The plan is for Christians to be faithful and have their heart right before God and then to spread His Gospel throughout the world. We need to focus on our testimony and make it more like Daniel's. We need to remain faithful in our daily walk. We need to share the Word of God with the lost and dying world around us. Only the Lord can change the heart and only the heart can change a man's actions. If we want political and social change we must have politicians and citizens who have God in their lives. I cannot teach unbelievers to follow God's plan any more than I can teach a dolphin to climb a tree; it is not in their nature. 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. He is a new creation "In Christ." Only after the power of Christ has done its work can we truly change the world for the better. We need to follow Daniel's example and attack the real root of the problems around us.