Apart from the fact that they had God on their side, Daniel and his friends had a lot going for them from the human standpoint. They were chosen by the Babylonians (Daniel 1: 3 - 4) because they were:
- strong
- healthy
- good-looking
- intelligent
- educated
- from noble families.
Yet, despite all these wonderful qualities, they still needed to go through a 3-year training and preparation programme before they would serve in the royal palace. This might seem a bit over the top, until we remember how young they were; the Hebrew word used was translated "children" in earlier Bible versions and indicates that they were probably around thirteen or fourteen years old at the time. They were still developing physically, and the king wanted them also to be trained in the language and literature of Babylonia. (vs 4)
No doubt he hoped that they would still be young enough to have their belief system shaped and would soon become "like a native" (as do many people who move overseas at a young age and soon become completely assimilated into their new language and culture.)
What the king and his staff hadn't counted on, however, was that these teenagers, even at such a young age, were already personally committed to their own God and to His guidelines for how to live. Someone (their parents, presumably) had done a good job of introducing them to the God of Israel, so that, faced with a hostile environment with lots of delicious, tempting new things to eat and drink, we read that Daniel stood strong and was "determined" not to defile himself. (vs 8)
Our kids today may not literally be carried off as prisoners of war, but something very similar happens to them at that same age of 13 - 14, and they find themselves in a hostile environment, a war zone of sorts. It's called secondary school, and it's full of new pressures to take drugs or alcohol, to look at pornography, to get involved sexually... and other things that would "defile" them.
The question to be asked is, how well have we prepared them? Have we given them enough opportunities to experience God in a real, personal way? Enough to make them loyal to their God and "determined" not to defile themselves?
The good news, of course, is that our teenagers are not suddenly isolated from their home environment as Daniel and his friends were. There's still lots of time for parents to guide them during their teenage years. But that parenting will be more challenging if it didn't already begin many years before, if it didn't understand the importance of the critical pre-teen years (age 10 - 12), and if the teenagers haven't experienced God's reality to such an extent that they have truly begun to personalise and embrace their own faith in God.
One of the best things we can do for our kids is to do what the parents of Mishael, Azariah, Hananiah and Daniel did: introduce them to the God who made them, loves them, and cares for every detail of their lives. That's the only thing that will protect and guide them in the hostile world of 21st Century society.
See the post below for further reflections from this Bible passage about training for royal service.
