My pastor preached on the story of Daniel this morning. He touched on an important topic in my repertoire of life lessons. I have given this illustration to my 8th grade students and felt impressed to cover it in my blog. The lesson is this...if you do not have a denial list, you are not an impact player in the game of life. To make a big splash, you must have a small, focused stream of force.
It is easily illustrated in the world around us. I just read an article about how to increase the water pressure of your shower. Guess what one of the suggestions was? Plug up some of the holes with epoxy to increase the pressure! Less is more.
How does that relate to our lives. If we want to have a higher impact on the world, and I certainly do, I must decrease the water flow. Of course, I am not talking about water flow, but the amount of things I allow in my life. I must have a denial list as Daniel did. The story of Daniel is inspiring.
He was exiled from his home and taken to Babylon. The story begins when he was chosen, with a group of Jewish exiles to be trained for leadership in Babylon. All the young men were equally likely candidates who could rise quickly to the top. Only four men did. Here is the story:
8-10" But Daniel determined that he would not defile himself by eating the king's food or drinking his wine, so he asked the head of the palace staff to exempt him from the royal diet. The head of the palace staff, by God's grace, liked Daniel, but he warned him, "I'm afraid of what my master the king will do. He is the one who assigned this diet and if he sees that you are not as healthy as the rest, he'll have my head!"
11-13 But Daniel appealed to a steward who had been assigned by the head of the palace staff to be in charge of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: "Try us out for ten days on a simple diet of vegetables and water. Then compare us with the young men who eat from the royal menu. Make your decision on the basis of what you see."
14-16 The steward agreed to do it and fed them vegetables and water for ten days. At the end of the ten days they looked better and more robust than all the others who had been eating from the royal menu. So the steward continued to exempt them from the royal menu of food and drink and served them only vegetables.
17-19 God gave these four young men knowledge and skill in both books and life. In addition, Daniel was gifted in understanding all sorts of visions and dreams. At the end of the time set by the king for their training, the head of the royal staff brought them in to Nebuchadnezzar. When the king interviewed them, he found them far superior to all the other young men. None were a match for Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. "
Their secret...they had a defilement list. How many of us have a defilement list? A pre-decided list of things that would be exempted from our life. If everything and anything is allowed, then our "water flow" will be low pressure. If I purposefully deny myself from certain things, I believe I will be more of a force on my environment.
My list may not be the same as yours. I actually do not like TV. If I did, most TV shows would be on my denial list. They add no value to my life whatsoever. Most movies are off my list. For me(notice I said me, not you) alcohol is off my list. The Bible does not forbid alcohol. I just forbid it in my life. It serves no purpose for me and could cause harm if a student saw me drinking alcohol in public. These are just examples. I like the idea of doing without things that the world thinks are a necessary part of life. Many folks think they are non-conformists. In actually, they look just like the world. You can't tell them apart from anyone else. What is on your list?
