Who are you working for?

In the concluding verses of Daniel chapter one, we read that the four friends were not only healthier than other candidates, but were also wiser. The king found them to be "ten times" more capable than his other advisors or even his magicians. They may have been in "forced labour," but these men were good at their jobs and were well respected for that. Daniel also had a God-given ability to interpret the meaning of dreams and visions - which played a key role in his interactions with a succession of Babylonian kings over many years.

In fact, a footnote to this account (Daniel 1: 20) lets us know that Daniel worked in royal service for a period of around 60 years - from the early years of King Nebuchadnezzar's reign (the events in this chapter happened around 605 BC) to the first year of King Cyrus's reign. (539 BC)

That's a long time to be stuck in a job that wouldn't have been your first choice of profession. Yet Daniel did his job well - with the result that people noticed that and some began to open their hearts to his God.

What about us, when life places us in a job or in circumstances that wouldn't have been what we hoped for? (An unfulfilling job, a difficult boss, a challenging neighbour, a handicapped family member...) Do we nonetheless give our best and serve well, knowing that our life might very possibly be the only way that those people can see the reality of God?

Centuries later, the early Christians were encouraged to serve with all their hearts and give their best (Colossians 3: 22 - 23) no matter how hard their circumstances - as if they were serving God and not simply working for people. It's a principle that Daniel modelled for us many years before and we can be inspired to see the good fruit that it brought in his life and the lives of those around him.