The Line - The Wesleyan Church

Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. (Dan. 6:11)

Expanded Passage: Daniel 6:11-13

“There’s a cobra living in my yard. How do I get rid of it?” That was the question my missionary dad asked a friend. His friend instructed him to find the hole to the snake’s den and put raw garlic around it. Cobras hunt by scent, he said, so they won’t cross the garlic and ruin their sense of smell. My dad followed this advice. Sure enough, days later, flies started swarming around the snake hole. The cobra had starved to death rather than cross the line of garlic.

Daniel’s enemies knew there was a line he wouldn’t cross, either. He wouldn’t violate his loyalty to the God of Israel. So they plotted to pass a law that would trap him: for a month, all prayer was to go only to King Darius. Breaking the law carried a death penalty, and the law itself couldn’t be revoked. It was the perfect setup.

Daniel was more clever than a cobra. He could recognize the trap. But he didn’t throw a public hissy fit. He didn’t strike back by venomously denouncing his enemies to the king. Instead, he simply prayed privately, as usual, asking God for help.

Do people know that you won’t cross the line on your commitment to Christ? Do they know how you won’t cross that line—with quiet courage, not as a noisy nuisance?

Let your Christian commitment be marked by both integrity and dignity.

Jerome Van Kuiken is a missionary kid, a Wesleyan minister, and professor of Christian thought at Oklahoma Wesleyan University.