Culture and the Kingdom

In chapter 1, we watched Daniel interact with the powerfully pervasive Babylonian Culture. He couldn't reject all of it. He carefully chose his battles and was gracious, wise, respectful, and courageous in his negotiations to achieve win-win solutions.

Today we may have to deal with a culture that promotes values that are self-centered, hedonistic and harmful to ourselves and our family. It may be a society that imposes new values and norms on us while ridiculing our values as old-fashioned, outdated, and even intolerant. We have to handle these pressures by:

• Earning people's respect through integrity and good performance.
• Coming up with win-win solutions or trial periods when we negotiate changes.
• Being firm of purpose but maintaining respect and gracious politeness.

The first six chapters of Daniel can be divided up as follows:
-The Pressure of Culture (Ch.1-2)
-The Pressure to Bow down in public (Ch.3-4)
-The Pressure to give up personal faith (Ch.5-6)

In each division, there is a chapter describing the pressure and a chapter that describes a God-given vision that gives us more perspective.

Chapters 1 and 2 are about the power of culture.

In chapter 2, Nebuchadnezzar has a dream about a statue with a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly, and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. This was a vision of the Babylonian Regime, which would be followed by the Medes and Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans. Then the statue is struck by a rock "not cut by human hands." (Peter reminds us that Jesus is the stone the builders rejected that has become both the cap and cornerstone.)

Nebuchadnezzar's dream reminds us that culture is not forever. Kingdoms come and go, and at some point, things happen to cultural giants (like Nebuchadnezzar) that make them look to the "God-people" (like Daniel) for help. There is a Kingdom that will endure, and our citizenship is of that Kingdom.