When No One Is Looking

in his mighty grasp. God was judging the nation for its transgressions by allowing this

captivity. The first thing that Nebuchadnezzar did was to round up the gifted

young men of Israel, kidnapping them from their families and friends, and taking them off

to a strange, pagan, foreign land. Daniel was one of these young men that were carried

off.

Daniel was raised to fear the God of Israel. He knew the law. He dared not rebel

against the teachings of his parents or the temple priests. With one day this all changed.

He was taken from the watchful eyes of his parents. They were pretty strict. Even though

he was in captivity, surely his pagan captors would allow Daniel to do some things that his

faithful Godly parents would not. He was removed from the supervision of the temple

priests. They were always harping about dietary laws that were supposed to make him

stand out from the rest of the world. To live as a Jew... one of God's chosen people, was

to be different. Surely his new Babylonian bosses would not require these things. He

always wondered what it would be like to taste the food that the world ate. Daniel even

had to learn a new language. Surely it would be too difficult to figure out how to

pray. Daniel was removed from everything that he knew. He had no one looking over his

shoulder. He could do what he would regarding his strict religious background... and no

one would bother him. No one was looking.

'Tis the season for change. Some are going to a different school. There are none of

the old friends, no parents, no peers that know that you are Christian. We could say the

same for those who are starting college, moving to a new town, or starting a new job. We

live in a changing world and sometimes we find ourselves away from those that pressure

us to do right. Some of us enjoy going to work day after day, because it gets us our from

under the watchful eyes of our spouse and our children. You can "relax and let your hair

down" with your buddies. In a sense, you are in a place where you feel that no one is

looking. We are living in an age when even in our solitude, we are connected. When you

find yourself alone in the home, no spouse, no kids... what choices do you make with the

radio, the TV, the internet? It is during these times of being alone and without

accountability that we are the most vulnerable. It is for that reason that we should avoid

that situation as much as possible. Once again we find a good reason to continue to meet

together in church, the positive peer pressure that we need.

II. You Must Determine Not To Be Defiled.

Daniel 1:8

8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of

the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the

prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.

You must make the decision to do right before you are in the heat of the moment,

tempted to do wrong. Many times someone ends up in sin because he has made little

dumb decisions all along that lead to his fall. If you do not intend to drink, do not set foot