May 4, 2025
We’re in a sermon series called, “Bless this Home,” about enjoying peace, happiness and contentment in our home and family. Jesus said, “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness.” Last Sunday we talked about living your life, not putting God on the sidelines, but God in the center of our lives and families. It means talking about how good God is and praying together. We’re so blessed to be able to gather in worship and talk about God with our families. So, we won’t keep quiet about God! We’ll tell our family how He has blessed us!
Next week, is about how Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” Peacemakers tell the truth in love, apologize when they’re wrong and forgive and let go. Today we’re talking about being pure in heart. Jesus said blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God!
Here’s something none of us would do. We wouldn’t give a baby a bottle of poison! But there are other things where it’s debatable what we would do. When should you give your kid a phone, unlimited access to a mobile device where they can see anything on the internet? Do you let your 15-year-old daughter go on a date with a 17-year-old guy in a car? Your daughter says, “But Emily’s mom let’s her!”
As adults as well there’s a slippery slope. We can rationalize, saying everybody’s doing it. We can do something unethical at work. Or we might decide to follow our heart, then follow it right into adultery. That’s not a good idea: don’t just follow your heart! How can we be pure in heart? We need a vision.
Here’s the vision: who would you like to be more like? It’s not someone who has a lot of stuff, or fame. But who is the person you admire for their character? It’s about who they are, not what they have. Wouldn’t it be great if you were on somebody’s list? They want to be like you?
To be pure in heart means you do the right thing, regardless, even though it costs you. We all make excuses for ourselves; we have good reasons we don’t do the right thing. But we don’t excuse anybody else who does the wrong thing.
When we are not pure in heart and do the wrong thing, our personal choices impact other people. If we want our families to make the right choices, we need to lead the way. We show them that we do the right thing, even when it’s has a cost.
Today we’re going to look at Daniel from the Old Testament. Daniel was Jewish. But in first chapter of book of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (which was the capital of a foreign country) attacked Jerusalem. He took prisoners and had them brought to Babylon. Among the prisoners were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. King Nebuchadnezzar gave them new names, and they were to be trained to serve the king. The king decided they would all get daily food and wine from the king’s table.
There’s a very important verse, Daniel 1:8, that says, “Daniel made up his mind not to let himself become ritually unclean by eating the food and drinking the wine of the royal court.”
People back then knew that starvation was possible: there might be a famine, a drought, or someone stole your food. The Jewish people believed God provides food for our bodies, which makes us healthy and leads to prospering. But the Babylonians had a different god, Marduk. If Daniel ate the food of the Babylonians, the god Marduk would get the credit for providing food for the body that leads to health and prosperity. Daniel felt if he ate King Nebuchadnezzar’s food he would be saying, “Marduk is greater than Yahweh, the God of Israel.” So, Daniel made up his mind ahead of time. He knew what he ought to do, no matter if it cost him.
Daniel made up his mind ahead of time. This is very important, because he made up his mind, before he knew whether doing the right thing would work out well for him. He could be killed for not eating as the king commanded! Daniel shows us what it is to be pure of heart, to make up your mind ahead of time, to do what you ought to do, even if it costs you. We only know this story, because Daniel made up his mind. He lived a story worth telling. We’re invited to live with integrity, with a pure heart, a story worth telling.
It would be easier to do the right thing if God would send an angel to say, “It’s ok, God’s going to keep you safe. You can refuse the king’s food and wine, and it will turn out great!” But that didn’t happen, Daniel didn’t know what would happen. It’s doesn’t work that way for you and me either. We don’t know if it will all work out.
Daniel’s friends are probably telling him: “Come on Daniel, this is really good food, we get to be in the king’s court, we will have great jobs here after our training is finished. Why not just go along? Don’t throw away this opportunity!” If you and I don’t decide ahead of time to have a pure heart, to do what’s right, there will be people who say, “Come on, just go with the flow. It doesn’t matter!” If we don’t decide ahead of time, fear will guide us. Fear of missing out will keep us from doing the right thing, and from living out a story worth telling.
Then Daniel didn’t like, just throw the Babylonian food under the table to the dog. He didn’t keep it a secret. He asked Ashpenaz, the king’s chief official, for permission to not eat the King’s food. He asked that even though he could be in trouble.
The king’s chief official, Ashpenaz was not happy. Ashpenaz told Daniel, “The king has decided what you are to eat and drink, and if you don’t look as fit as the other young men, he may kill me.”
Daniel says, “How about you test us? Don’t give me and my three friends the king’s meat and wine. Just give us vegetables for 10 days. And see what condition we’re in compared to the men eating the king’s food.” Ashpenaz agrees. And after 10 days, Daniel and his vegetable eating friends look better than the meat-eating men! So, they are allowed to continue eating veggies, and honoring God. And it all turns out very well! The four of them learn quickly and have amazing knowledge and skill, they can solve any problem or question from the king. Daniel could interpret dreams.
When I was in college, I got a chance to study for a semester in Poland with nine other students. Before I went to Poland, a friend and I went to visit some friends who had previously gone to Poland on the same program. One of the students said, “Don’t exchange your money in Poland for the official rate. You’ll easily find people to exchange your dollar for 8 times what the official rate is. Everybody does that.” I thought, that sounds great! I’ll have lots of Polish money! But the other student, Kenji, said, “I don’t recommend exchanging money on the black market. You’ll be in a foreign country. You should respect the laws there. I only exchanged my money at the bank for the official rate.”
Drat! I thought, Kenji is right! I felt like he rained on my parade. Because Kenji made a point to talk to me about the right thing, I made up my mind, ahead of time, to do the right thing. Even though it would cost me. I made a decision different than I would otherwise have made. Because he helped me make up my mind ahead of time.
All the other American students in my program exchanged their dollar for a lot more money than I did. But Poland was not a place you spent lots of money. There were no shopping malls, and not much in the stores. We received ration cards for some food. My friend Susie bought a weaving loom with all the money, and somehow shipped it from Poland to the U.S. But I didn’t want a weaving loom! I had plenty of Polish money. In the end I was glad that Kenji did the right thing and encouraged me to do the right thing.
The world does not need more people, more parents, more friends, who make it up a day at a time. Your family doesn’t need that. They need you to be a person of integrity, so they seek a pure heart too.
My challenge for you this week is to think about who you can talk to who will help you do the right thing? Have them on speed dial so you can make up your mind ahead of time to do the right thing!
Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God!” There’s a blessing that comes from doing the right thing! When you make up your mind ahead of time, you can live a story that’s worth telling and lead your family to do the same. Amen.
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