Daniel 5:14

I have even heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee.

The above scripture is part of what King Belshazzar said to Daniel when he called on Daniel to interpret a dream he had. I thought about that scripture. . . Daniel was known to be a man of God even to those who didn’t serve God. Verse 12 says "excellent spirit was found" in Daniel. He had a great reputation! Have you ever wondered what people say about you to others? At a recent job interview, I was asked what my former employers or fellow workers would say about me. It would be great to have a reputation like Daniel. He practiced what he preached. He lived his life as a Godly man and was known for it. He followed his convictions not the crowd. He was determined to live as God commanded him to live regardless of what others thought or what others were doing. Some of us are afraid of not fitting in, of standing out or of looking stupid. Daniel was not afraid and ended up with a strong witness and testimony of God and who God is.

What made Daniel different? What made Daniel have such a reputation? The difference was Daniel didn’t compromise. Every time a man or woman of God in the Bible compromised, there was a consequence. Every time we compromise our beliefs, we suffer the consequences. Sometimes the consequences are more obvious than others. King David compromised when he had an affair with Bathsheba. The consequences were severe. King Saul compromised and it cost him is Kingdom. Adam and Eve compromised what they knew to be wrong and all of mankind has suffered the consequences. Mankind has had less than what God originally had for us.

We sometimes compromise with small things like when we go to a place that we should not go to or watch a movie that is not pleasing to God. It may seem small, but over a period of time the consequences come. Parents have to be careful to not compromise with their children.

When we compromise, we are settling for less than what we know to be right. We end up with less than what God has for us. We end up with a lesser reputation than we could have or with a lesser testimony we could have for God.

Additional Reading:

Daniel 5

II Samuel 11 & 12

I Samuel 13 and 15