Above Reproach

“Then this Daniel began distinguishing himself among the commissioners and satraps because he possessed an extraordinary spirit, and the king planned to appoint him over the entire kingdom. Then the commissioners and satraps began trying to find a ground of accusation against Daniel in regard to government affairs; but they could find no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption, inasmuch as he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him.”
Daniel 6:3-5

In a few months we will elect a new president.  While my prayer has been to make a wise decision with my vote, I’m almost better off praying for God to provide a Daniel to make sense of all the mess.  Someone who will distinguish themself and and possess an extraordinary spirit.  A person whose life is and will be above reproach.

We need a Daniel. Daniel possessed:

1. Integrity.  He didn’t compromise his convictions no matter the cost.  He stood his ground, he found comfort in his faith.
2. Courage.  This quality is so key as everything begins and starts with it.  It takes courage to be a man of integrity in a compromising world.  Without courage most good intentions remain just that, instead of becoming good actions.
3. An extraordinary spirit.  To me this one’s the hardest to attain as I my mind can’t really wrap itself around what it really means?  It says, “he (Daniel) possessed an extraordinary spirit.  Now what I get is that no matter how difficult the news was that he had to share to the Babylonian kings, he did so with an eloquence and excellence that it was received well.  I also get that when ridiculed and punished, he handled both with humility and grace.  But what moved Daniel to consistently display this extraordinary spirit?  All I can guess to say is that Daniel really only cared about one thing…and that was honor and glorify God and God alone.  His life wasn’t his own, so his spirit soared extraordinarily as it was completely dedicated to God.