Always Speak The Truth

Do you ever hesitate to tell the truth? Sometimes we do because we figure it would cause less of a disturbance if we just kept our mouth shut. Sometimes speaking the truth in love is not so easy to do. For instance, you have a good friend and you see your friend wearing a t-shirt that says religion = hate. Do you say anything to them? Or a co-worker mocks someone for praying before a meal. Do you let it go? Or maybe your employer asks you to do something unethical. What do you do? We have to remember that Jesus taught us that the truth will set us free. Today we're going to use the Book of Daniel once again, chapter 5, to talk about always speaking the truth.

Let me give you a little background to begin with. Last week we talked about King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He is now out of the picture and a new King Belshazzar is king of Babylon. Even though there is now a new King in Babylon, Daniel remained in a foreign land and was still committed to faithfully serving the God of Israel. Once again, we see a choice involved. Daniel would have to choose where his allegiances were.

Decades before this story, you might remember that I said King Nebuchadnezzar had overtaken Jerusalem and carried some of the sacred vessels from the temple back to Babylon. In our story today, King Belshazzar was having a party and he chose to use these sacred vessels just for every day utensils. They were drinking wine from the sacred cups from the temple. During this party a hand mysteriously appears and starts writing a message on the wall. No one could interpret what the message was or what it meant. Daniel is called in and our story begins.

I think everyone's life is a series of ups and downs. In our story today we see Daniel had his share of ups and downs. He was brought as a captive to Babylon, he was elevated to being the advisor to the king, then when King Belshazzar entered the scene Daniel appears to have been lowered in his position. But despite his change in position, Daniel's integrity still defined him. His integrity echoed throughout the land. He was known as a man used by God. Even though he was no longer a direct advisor of the king, his reputation outlasted his presence.

When you think about it, the same thing should be said for us - that we live lives of such integrity and honor that even when we're gone, our reputation still lasts. The New Testament put it this way. Peter advised:

1 Peter 2:12 – “Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that when they slander you as evildoers, they will observe your good works and will glorify God on the day he visits.”

We see a vision in this verse for the way we are to live in a foreign land no matter what century we're in. We recognize that we kind of live in a hostile territory, Christians in an unbelieving society, but our time and location only serve to provide a greater opportunity to stand out from the crowd.

We asked two weeks ago, how strong is your conviction to God? The question for each of us is, will we stand up for the truth despite any consequences? Thinking about integrity, regardless of where you are today, you have an opportunity to live well. To love completely. To act with kindness and integrity. Where is that opportunity for you? How might you being a person that is known for your integrity be an example to those who aren't yet believers?

Daniel 5:17 – “Then Daniel answered the king, “You may keep your gifts and give your rewards to someone else; however, I will read the inscription for the king and make the interpretation known to him.”

Just as Daniel had done before, he was ready to trust God to give him the wisdom and knowledge to know only what God could know. The King was so anxious to know the interpretation of this mysterious handwriting on the wall that he was ready to reward Daniel in all kinds of ways. In exchange for the interpretation, Daniel would have wealth, power, and prestige. Daniel didn't want any of it. He had too much integrity to start using the gift that God had given him for his own personal profit. He would tell the truth, not because he would be rewarded for doing so, but because he was faithful to God's call.

Daniel was no stranger to delivering difficult news. If you read chapters 3 and 4 of Daniel, you'll find that some years earlier, he told Nebuchadnezzar that because of his arrogance, his kingdom would be taken away. That happened and Belshazzar saw it happen. But he didn't learn from it. His actions of using these sacred vessels from the temple as commonplace tableware was proof of how arrogant he was. Daniel was bound by his integrity to tell him just that—the truth.