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PROGRAM D-8161

If no one would ever know whether you or I did the right thing or not, would we still do the right thing? When no one is looking, do we wander away from our convictions and principles? In the first chapter of his book, Daniel was confronted with this type of situation. Let me briefly paraphrase this story for you.

Daniel was about 14 or 15 years old at the time of his capture by the Babylonians, at which time he and his friends were brought to Babylonia and trained for three years to prepare them to serve the king. Daniel was Jewish, and we read that “Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine…” (Daniel 1:8). To eat their food would have been in direct disobedience to God’s law, which Daniel knew very well.

If Daniel had decided to eat the king’s food, no one would have known. I’m sure it was tempting to do so, for it was undoubtedly rich food. He was totally separated from his Jewish community—his parents were not there, his teachers were not there, and there was absolutely no one checking up on Daniel to make sure that he didn’t break God’s law. But Daniel knew that he was accountable to God, and he stood true to his convictions.

When you’re away from home, perhaps on a business trip, are you tempted to immorality or dishonesty since no one will know? How about cheating on your employer or your customer? Are you prone to do that when you feel it can never be detected?

In our culture, the common thinking is, As long as you don’t get caught, it’s okay. However, if we break God’s laws and principles—even though we may think no one’s looking and, therefore, it will never really make any difference—it is still sin, and we can be sure that God knows.

Daniel understood that his ultimate accountability was to God because God was always watching. Daniel gives us a truly amazing example, as this young teenage man resolves not to defile himself. Let’s commit ourselves as Christians in the marketplace to do what’s right simply because it’s the right thing to do.