The World's Buffet

“Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine…” Daniel 1:8

I LOVE a good buffet! There is nothing like it…roaming down that line scanning each dish on the tabletop as it is displayed like a banquet. When Bruce and I went to Texas a few months ago we went to a restaurant known for their Sunday buffets. There was so much food to take in, and I was told ahead of time by my sister-in-law that the choices were unparalleled in flavor. I knew that before I even went to the line I needed to make a decision of how much I intended on eating. I didn’t want to end up with stomach pain which I had done so many times before. I knew the time for me to decide was not when I faced the temptation but rather by resolving ahead of time and being obedient to that decision.

This is what Daniel and his faithful friends did before they got to the kings table. They made decisions that matched their principles before they were tempted. The kings table was covered in ‘meats that were unclean, according to the Old Testament law…perhaps they were connected with idol worship.’ Believer’s Bible Commentary, p. 1079.

The world offers us quite the buffet as we move down the line of its display. We don’t even need to think up our wants, for the world generates the foods for us. The offerings have been uniquely seasoned to our taste as we look upon our choices in life. We don’t even taste the salt of over-indulgence or the spice of temptation. After all, it wouldn’t be on the table if we weren’t meant to have it, right?

It is spiritually critical that we balance our indulgence of the things of this world with our principles. Does it fit on our plate? If we indulge in this particular dish of the world, does it mean the exclusion of a healthier dish, perhaps something of a spiritual taste? We must resolve up front the things for which we will consume and the degree of our participation in that choice. We must be cautious that the things we consume will not consume us. After all, ‘Everything is permissible for me – but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me – but I will not be mastered by anything.’ 1 Co. 6:12.

Sometimes many of the things that are legitimate and legal in the world destroy us the most due to our lack of resolve and balance. We must be Daniels in this enticing world as we eat at the table that offers both life and death.