To be honest, we live in a world that gives us the same old, same old; the same fights and disagreements over the same issues and topics with the same predictable outcomes—again, and again, and again…

But what if there was the hope of overcoming this sameness—the status quo, if you will. Well, there is, and it’s found in the Bible, specifically Daniel 1. Daniel was a prophet to the nation of Judah and God’s people in the late 600s B.C. And I know what you’re thinking, “What in the world could I possibly learn from some guy who liked to bring warnings and bad news well over 2,500 years ago?”

As it turns out, we can learn a great deal from this man—actually young teen when we’re introduced to him—in the self-titled book of Daniel. 

Daniel was a captive, exiled from his home in Jerusalem, by the Babylonians. In short, he found himself in a culture that was very different from his own; he wasn’t in Kansas anymore! And if you think about it, things are not that different for us, right? We live in a world that looks less familiar by the day. See, I told you that you have more in common with a guy from the 600s B.C. than you would initially think.

Without telling the story all the way through, Daniel has his name changed, and is assimilated into the Babylonian culture through a complex set of education and indoctrination, and other untold practices to completely wipe out his Israelite identity and make him “one of them.” But in verse 8 of Daniel 1, he draws a line in the sand when it says, but Daniel was determined (resolved) not to defile himself by eating the food…given to them by the king.

Wait a minute…what’s that all about? He had no problem going along with the program to this point, but got hung up on some food—why? There are a lot of theories, but in my best estimation and reading of the text it seems to me that he said, “enough is enough.” He understood that Babylon was slowly crushing him and he wasn’t going to take it anymore. So he drew a line in the sand and made a bold choice that I would encourage any person who is reading this to make: BE DISTINCT.

I know, it doesn’t sound terribly bold, and maybe it doesn’t stir you to action, but in a world that gives us the same old, day in and day out, wouldn’t distinct and different be refreshing? As I told my church family recently, “If you want to make a difference in the world, you have to bring something different to the table.”

Here’s my encouragement as 2024 gets underway: BE BOLD, BE DIFFERENT, BE DISTINCT!