The Wisdom of Negotiation
But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel, but the official told Daniel, "I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you." Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, "Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see." So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days. (Daniel 1:8-14)
Daniel was faced with yet another problem. He had prepared himself in advance for temptation. He had resolved to obey God's laws. But Nebuchadnezzar was determined not only to change the loyalty and thinking of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, but also to change their lifestyle. If Nebuchadnezzar was successful, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah would become completely and totally his men. So Nebuchadnezzar ordered that all of the young men (remember, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah were just four of the chosen group brought captive to Babylon) be given the delicious and tempting meats and wines from his own table. Not only did Nebuchadnezzar want these young men healthy and strong, he wanted them to be Babylonians.
In his resolve to follow God's laws, Daniel could have been argumentative, vocal, rude, or confrontational with the chief official. Instead, he asked for permission to keep from defiling himself. God caused the official to show favor and sympathy, but the man still presented his argument to Daniel as to why he couldn't honor the young man's request. He was afraid that if Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah ate only vegetables and water as they had requested, they would lose weight and look bad. Then the king would notice that something was up, and would kill the chief official for disobedience. At this point, Daniel, again, could have been confrontational. Instead, he chose to negotiate by asking that the guard appointed by the chief official to give them a ten day trial, and to treat them according to how they looked at the end of that ten days.
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Many times you and I are faced with situations where we must choose to go against the grain of society or our bosses or our friends or our families in order to remain faithful to our own resolve to follow God's commandments. We, like Daniel, have the option to be argumentative, vocal, rude, or confrontational - or to negotiate with those with whom we find ourselves at odds. When we choose the former tack, we usually find ourselves in an argument with unpleasantness, hurt feelings and, sometimes, destroyed relationships, as the result. In the alternative, when we use quiet and calm reason and negotiation, we will find ourselves with not only a better outcome emotionally, but with final negotiations that do not compromise our commitment to Jesus. And through it all, our demeanor and attitude will stand as a witness to others for our Lord.
Think about it.
From Dogwood Ministries, Inc.
J-R-and-Bonnie@dogwoodministries.org
Used with Permission
