Daniel proves to us that one does not have to be up in years to make good decisions for God.  Yes, experience helps, if we are willing to apply it, but there have been many young people over the years who have decided to do what is right in the eyes of God.

Daniel was probably around seventeen years old when Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem and took him and others captive.  He carried them back to Babylon where some, including Daniel, were selected to serve in the king’s palace.  One of the perks that went along with this was to eat from his table.  Daniel, however, had no interest in that.

Daniel 1:8 (NKJV)
⁸  But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.

While Daniel refused to eat from the king’s table, his real decision came earlier.  He first purposed not to defile himself.  He decided that he would remain holy before God.  Like Joshua, he was not concerned with what the majority was doing.  Popularity is not what moved him.  His purpose was to please God and that is something that cannot be done without holiness.

Have you made a decision to be holy?  The Bible is clear about the importance of this.

Hebrews 12:14 (ESV)
¹⁴  Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

Wow!  That puts it into perspective, doesn’t it?  Without holiness, heaven is an impossible dream.  Why does God care so much about us being holy?  It is because He wants us to be like Him.

1 Peter 1:14-16 (ESV)
¹⁴  As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, ¹⁵  but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶  since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”  

In the life of the Christian, holiness points to clean moral living apart from the corruption of this world from which we have escaped (2 Peter 1:4).  It is only with holiness that we can serve a morally perfect God.

Romans 12:1 (ESV)
¹  I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Paul went on to exhort the saints not to conform to this world (ver. 2).  To conform means to act in agreement with, or to go along with prevailing customs.  A decision to be holy is to decide to be different from the world, something that many children of God have failed to do over the years.  There is a strong pull to be like everyone else around us, but we must resist the temptation and live differently.  We must live by the high moral standard of the gospel of Christ (Philippians 1:27).   Let’s allow Paul to articulate it for us as we close.

2 Corinthians 6:17-7:1 (ESV)
¹⁷  Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, ¹⁸  and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” ¹  Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.     

As you wind down for the night, think about these things