Draw Your Boundaries

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 compassion to Daniel. – Daniel 1:8-9

In Daniel chapter 1, you can read about a boy named Daniel and the predicament he found himself in as he shared a meal with the Babylonian king. He was offered food and wine from the king, but something deep in his soul told him not to accept the offerings.

Why would he draw a line at eating the king’s food and drinking the king’s wine? There have been all kinds of speculation and reasons given, but we are not specifically told. One thing we do know is that in Middle Eastern culture, when you sat down to eat a meal, particularly with a ruler or a king, you were pledging loyalty to the king, but there was only one King and that was God.

It appears as if Daniel is out of options. Yet in this story, we learn a lesson about lines we find in the dirt of our own lives. As you go through life, you will find God-drawn lines that the world will tempt you to cross. When you stay on the God side, you will stay on the good side. If that’s the side you want to stay on, then I encourage you to pay close attention to Daniel. Today we’ll look at one of the ways Daniel put his foot down, and then over the next few days, we’ll look at two more ways.

The first way Daniel put his foot down is that he learned to draw boundaries. There were a lot of reasons for Daniel to say, “Yes” to what the king was offering. He was on his own; nobody back home would ever know about it. Everybody else was going to eat it – and it’s great food – some steak, twice-baked potato, washed down with Cabernet. But Daniel had boundaries – boundaries that his parents had taught him. Perhaps they were boundaries that the Spirit of God had given to him. Regardless, this was a line he knew he couldn’t cross.

This was not a matter of diet; it was a matter of dedication. There was a line in the dirt, and Daniel had to decide which side of that line he was going to be on. But what’s important to note about this passage is that we can infer that Daniel had already decided what his boundaries were before he found himself in a tempting situation.

That being said, I would encourage you to establish your boundaries now. Know what they are and resolve to guard your boundaries closely. This way when temptation arises, you are prepared to fight against it.

Dear Lord, thank you for the example Daniel set. Thank you for this lesson in drawing boundaries. I pray that you would make the lines clear you want me to draw and that I would be faithful to the boundaries you have outlined in Scripture. May I choose to follow, obey, and honor you no matter what it costs me, just like Daniel did. In Jesus’ name, amen.