Daniel and the Veggies: Don't Settle for Low Standards

As I mentioned in the last post, I recently read the book of Daniel. I’m guessing that the word “Daniel”  immediately makes you think of the story of “Daniel and the Lions Den”. But the book of Daniel is actually filled up with many other little, lesser-known stories. Last week, I told you about Nebuchadnezzar. This week is--no, it’s not “Daniel and the Lions Den.” It is “Daniel and the Veggies.”

In chapter 1 of Daniel, we read that the king of Babylon takes over Jerusalem and assigns his chief eunuch, Ashpenaz, to gather up some “youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king's palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.” (Daniel 1:4, ESV.) This included Daniel and his friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (whom you probably know as Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego). Note that they were called “youths.” At that part of the story, they were young. I googled it, and different sources said different things, but they were probably somewhere in the range of 11-15 years old.

Anyways, in verse 5, we read, “The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king.” Since all the kids would need to stand before the king later on, it was probably important to Ashpenaz that they were raised right.

But for some reason, little Daniel didn’t want the king’s food. We’re not completely sure why, but it could’ve been that their food was unclean and the grapes for their wine were not grown according to a Jewish rule in Leviticus 19:23-25. It could have also been that the food was dedicated to idols, making it way more unclean than normal unclean food. Whatever the reason, little Daniel was resolved not to defile himself, so he went straight to Ashpenaz, the chief eunuch.

Ashpenaz said, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.” (Verse 10.) Note the lower caps when Ashpenaz said he was afraid of his “lord”. Unlike the chief eunuch, Daniel feared the Lord (upper caps), so he didn’t stop there. 

Next, he went to the steward who was in charge of him and his friends (Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego). Daniel requested this: “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king's food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.” (Verses 12 and 13.) You can see that Daniel didn’t take up the challenge just to make himself look good because he roped in his friends too!

Well, the steward listened to them and agreed to the test. What happened then? Did they get sick of veggies after three days and beg the steward for their old food back? Did the king kick them out because they weren’t doing well in their studies?

Nope, they actually looked a lot better after switching to this unusual diet. After ten days, their steward decided that they didn’t need the king’s food, so he kept giving them veggies. Daniel and his friends were “better in appearance” than all the other youth! Not only that, but God gave those four kids “learning and skill in all literature and wisdom” and even gave Daniel “understanding in all visions and dreams” (verse 17)! 

How about their meeting with the king at the end of their time there? So, the king spoke with all the youth, and he decided that Daniel and his friends really stood out from the other kids. In fact, they stood out from the whole kingdom! “And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom.” (Verse 20.)

Here’s what I got out of Daniel’s story:

• Daniel had a healthy conscience. He was completely resolved not to defile himself. A Christian teenager today might be tempted to settle for what all the other Christian teenagers were doing, but not Daniel. His conscience didn’t settle for the other Jewish youths’ standards. He felt the need to make a change.

• Daniel had some initiative. When the Holy Spirit stirred up something in his heart, he actually went and did it. He didn’t just wait for a vision or a dream or the voice of God to do what he thought was right. He did it. 
• Daniel was faithful. Even when he was so young, he wanted to serve God. He was willing to sacrifice comfort and risk doing what he thought was right, and his youth was no excuse for being unfaithful. Later on in life, he even intentionally broke a law (no praying) for God.
• Daniel was persistent. He didn’t stop when Ashpenaz turned down his request. Daniel wasn’t afraid of Ashpenaz or even the king. He feared the True King and was determined to not do what he felt was wrong. He didn’t give up! He went to his steward, and his steward listened!

How about you? Are you willing to go above and beyond the standards of Christians around you? Do you have what it takes to make the decisions for yourself? Will you settle for what everyone else is doing when the Holy Spirit stirs up your conscience? 

A new school year is coming, and with it comes challenges. Some of you might be homeschoolers or go to Christian schools, but still, I dare you to be ready to go above and beyond. Be ready to set your spiritual standard higher than the people around you. (But don’t be a Pharisee!) Daniel was surrounded by other Jewish youth eating defiled food, but he didn’t settle for the crowd’s standard. Will you?

Humility -- the Dreaded Article

Recently, I’ve been reading the book of Daniel. I read about a king named Nebuchadnezzar, and in chapter 4, he had a dream. “I saw a dream that made me afraid. As I lay in bed the fancies and the visions of my head alarmed me.” (Daniel 4:5, ESV.) He envisioned a beautiful, prosperous tree being chopped down. This was Nebuchadnezzar’s second dream in the book of Daniel, and Daniel came and interpreted this one for the troubled king just like how he interpreted the other dream.

This time, Daniel said to Nebuchadnezzar, “this is the interpretation, O king… you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” (Verses 24 to 25.) Like the tree in his dream, King Nebuchadnezzar had grown great and strong. And, like the tree, he would be humbled.

Nebuchadnezzar could’ve humbled himself. He could’ve acknowledged “that the Most High rules the kingdom of men” and worshiped God instead of himself. But a year later, he was taking a little walk on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, and he said to himself, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” (Verse 30.) 

Uh-oh. God didn’t like that. He immediately fulfilled the king’s dream and humbled him to the level of an animal. “[Nebuchadnezzar] was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles' feathers, and his nails were like birds' claws.” 

Whoever exalts himself will be humbled… - Matthew 23:12 (ESV)

A gospel perspective on humility

Confession time: I don’t like to read about humility and putting off pride. It’s tough stuff to read about. It makes me feel bad about the low, low creature I am. I don’t even like to write about it. I was planning to write this article a week earlier, but I procrastinated. Humility isn’t pleasant.

But… (wait for it…) humility is important! (Didn’t see that coming, did you?) ;)

God is an infinitely mighty and holy God. The Creator and what He created are in two completely different categories.

To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him? - Isaiah 40:18 (ESV)

We owe God a lot of respect for just who He is. And if you think about what we (and Nebuchadnezzar!) are like…

All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. - Romans 3:12 (ESV)

That makes it very clear why we should be humble before God. But why should we humble ourselves before other people? In the heat of a conflict, we are prone to thoughts like, “I am better than that person in the area of such-and-such. It doesn’t matter what that person thinks about such-and-such. Why should I even listen to so-and-so?” 

Well, looking at this issue through a gospel lens, we can remember how Christ didn’t take his superiority into account before he died for all the unworthy. 

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. - Philippians 2:5-8 (ESV)

After Jesus did all this and redeemed us undeserving sinners, shouldn’t we want to be like Him? If we have been saved by such a wonderful Savior, shouldn’t we strive to imitate His humility? If we forget what Christ has done for us in the moment which we want to put ourselves first, we are as bad as the Unforgiving Servant. The servant was forgiven 10,000 talents by his master, yet he wouldn’t even forgive his fellow servant 100 denarii.

The aforementioned Philippians passage goes on to say:

And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. - Philippians 2:9-11 (ESV)

After Jesus was brought low, God lifted Him high. We, too, will be exalted for our humility before God and others one day. You can see this pretty clearly in a number of verses--Psalm 138:6, Proverbs 3:34, Proverbs 3:34, Matthew 23:12, Luke 1:52, James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5… Sure, humility is unpleasant, but the average American lifespan is, what, eighty years? Eternal life in heaven will be more than worth it!

Now that I think about it, I should probably tell you the end of King Nebuchadnezzar’s story, too.

At the end of the days that God was humbling the king and making him live like an animal, Nebuchadnezzar lifted his eyes to heaven and worshipped God. “...all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth…” (Verse 35.) The king finally got the idea that God was the Most High, not him. God deserved all the praise and glory, not him.

And God rewarded him for that. “At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was added to me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.” (Verses 36-37.)

Together, like Nebuchadnezzar, let’s strive to put God first and others first. Humility is found in simple everyday things. Putting others first can literally be letting them go first--waiting until after everyone else has chosen their cookie to take the tiniest one, or maybe taking on the nastiest job so your siblings don’t have to. And a practical way for you to put God first may be setting aside the start of your day to read your Bible. If you are following Christ, you’ve already taken a huge step of humility--all glory be to God!

How to Do a Big Project in a Big Family Part 4 - Bathing the littles

(See the introduction and other posts first if you haven’t!)

Like with House Bingo, if you do it right, jobs being uneven can be an advantage. But with simpler things, if people all want the same job, there will be a lot of quarreling. Sometimes it seems like taking the hardest job is all you can do. But it is not.

You can divide work well.

Twice a week (or more) the time comes when all four little ones who don’t bathe themselves need a bath. The other six bigger kids need to bathe them. Sometimes the bathroom can get really full and noisy. And wet. People all want to bathe the easiest to bathe kid (the biggest of the littles) and get out of the rest.

I spotted the problem and decided we needed an assembly line. I made a list of the jobs:

• finding clothing for afterwards
• getting kids into the bath and washing their hair
• bathing their bodies and getting them out
• drying them off plus odd jobs
• lotioning them
• clothing them

I added “odd jobs” to the drying job to even it up a bit, but everyone still wanted it. How would I decide to whom to give it? How could I do it in a way people wouldn’t argue? And how to make sure the younger big kids don’t get overly difficult jobs?

I distributed the jobs from youngest to oldest (to the big kids). Nobody argued because I was the oldest and the younger ones should get simpler jobs. Well, a few kids still wanted the drying job but I told them they were too big for it.

And this strategy can be applied to plenty of other things!

Like making breakfast burritos. Nobody wants to make the bacon. Everyone wants to cook the tortillas. I take the bacon-making to get rid of that quarrel. Then I tell them if they cook the tortillas, they also have to put together the breakfast burritos, serve them and clean up. That leaves one person who still wants to make them and the others are content with other jobs.

Now it is time to think about how you can encourage your family to cooperate and avoid social loafing. Let me know if this helps!

How to Do a Big Project in a Big Family Part 3 - The Shovel & Dark Vader of the Kitchen

See the introduction and other posts if you haven’t!)

People need motivation. And if you are one of those people who offer your kids/siblings candy (or money) every time they do something, no offense, but eventually you’ll run out of candy and your kids/siblings’ll have cavities.

My solution is to instead offer them power. Sugar-free.

When all the kids go outside to battle the weeds, they tend to get lazy. Fast. The sun beating down. The lack of prospect of victory against everlasting weeds. You get the idea.

I noticed this problem and another as well. I saw that it was very inefficient for everyone to have to get up regularly to put their weeds in the green waste. So I appointed someone (the first to come outside for weeding) to carry a shovel around and collect people’s weeds for them. A very easy job. Consequently, everyone wanted it.

So the shovel got passed to someone new every five minutes. But not just anyone. The person who — in the shovel carrier’s opinion — weeded the hardest or the most. Now, not only were they weeding to get the easy job, but also for the power of choosing the next person.

This solution:

- encourages people to come outside for weeding fast, because the first to come out got the first turn with the shovel

- added a helpful position where somebody collects what has been weeded

- compelled people to weed more

The kids wanted the shovel both:

- to have an easy job

- and for the power to choose the next shovel person

I use the same strategy when we clean the kitchen and pick up after dinner.

If a few siblings choose to join something called the “Darth Vader system,” they will take turns being “Darth Vader” each evening. “Darth Vader” gets to choose who in the “Darth Vader system” gets what job.

People join the system for the power of being Vader every once and a while and then put themselves subject to the other Vaders’ authority. Since Darth Vader’s job is to make sure the people of the system work efficiently, this strategy works pretty well.

The Darth Vader is in charge of dividing the work, and, especially with complicated tasks, “divide and conquer” is a big deal. More on dividing work next time.

How to Do a Big Project in a Big Family Part 2 - House Bingo

(See the introduction and first post if you haven’t!)

Competition is social loafing’s worst enemy. Social loafing is when everyone tries to the least possible, while competition is when everyone tries to do the most. If everyone keeps a competitive spirit, I can guarantee you won’t have social loafing.

So make it competitive.

Instead of the normal house-cleaning checklist, one day I made a chart. Columns for jobs — picking up, sweeping, mopping, etc. — and rows for rooms — living room, kitchen, hallway, etc.

Once I had came up with many rows and columns, I had many unique boxes. “Mop kitchen,” “Sweep hallway,” “Pick up in living room.” Each box you sign is a point, and each completed row or column you help with is three points.

The ingenuity of this was that not all tasks were equal. This created a race to do the easy things. Even the most slothful kids wanted to get the easy tasks, so they finished each one quickly to go to the next one. Thus, they weren’t slothful anymore!

When I saw which few bigger tasks people shied away from, I wrote a generous amount of points the doer of this chore would get. And hence, workers raced for the hard jobs!

At the same time they raced to complete rows of chores (e.g. sweeping every room) and with all the racing, everything got done! It was super competitive and efficient, and everyone was proud of the checked boxes at the end. Even the younger kids worked hard to get more points than each other. It was beautiful.

Applying competition to weeding also produces much efficiency, as you will see in an example next time.