Daniel 6:1-28
Our nation is inundated daily with news of the alleged Presidential scandals. At the same time the President’s approval ratings remain at record levels. Doesn’t this say more about the American people than it does about the American President? In reality, it says more about the American pew than it does about the American people. In truth, it really says more about the American pulpit than it does about the American pew.
What is the single most important trait of one who desires truly to make a difference in our world today? Some say intellect, or knowledge, is power. Others point to intensity, a spirit of conquest, a passion for what we do. Still others say it is insight, a vision that leadership brings which can be adopted by one’s peers. In the long run, however, the single most important characteristic of leadership is integrity.
Daniel was certainly a man of intellect (1:4), intensity (1:8), and insight (chapters 2 and 5). But what truly set him apart and enabled him to achieve such incredible success in Babylon was his integrity (6:3).
We, like Daniel, live in the midst of four distinct spheres of life and influence. You have private life — that part of your existence where no one goes but you and God. You have a personal life — that part of you that is shared by only a small circle of family and perhaps a friend or two who intimately knows you. You also have a professional life — that part of your existence that consists of scores, perhaps hundreds, of individuals with whom you connect weekly at work, school, civic or social activities. Finally, you have a public life — that part of you which is sometimes called your public persona where, when your name is mentioned, people who have never known you on a professional level, much less a personal or private level, form an opinion about you for good or bad. This brings us to an important question: Where is integrity found?
I. Integrity is rooted in your private life (vv. 1-3)
II. Integrity is reflected in your personal life (vv. 4-5)
III. Integrity is reinforced in your professional life (vv. 4-10)
IV. Integrity is revealed in your public life (vv. 11-28)
Integrity is not rooted in the public life. It is only revealed there as to whether we have it or not. Those with little integrity will eventually be exposed publicly. Integrity is not rooted in our professional life. It is only reinforced there. If we have integrity it is reinforced in our everyday professional dealings where we beat out its principles on the anvil of personal experience. Integrity is not rooted in the personal life of close, intimate relationships. It is only reflected there in our dealings with those who truly know us. Integrity, as beautifully illustrated in the life of Daniel, is rooted in the private life. It is that part of you that will live as long as God lives, the real you in close communion and fellowship with the Lord himself. When we root our integrity with Him alone, then just as natural as water running downhill, our integrity will be reflected to those in our personal world with whom we love and live, reinforced in our professional world with those with whom we work and play, and finally, revealed in the public world for the glory of God.
Let it be said of you and me at the end of our journey what was said of Daniel and expressed generations before him of King David, that we led with the integrity of our heart and the skillfulness of our hands (Psalm 78:72).