Daniel ch.6 – Becoming a Person of Honor

Daniel ch. 6 is one of the most famous stories in the Bible: Daniel and the Lion’s Den. The story begins with the governors of the new Persian kingdom trying to find fault with Daniel so they could get rid of him. When they couldn’t find anything wrong that Daniel did since he was a man of honor and integrity, they went after his spiritual devotion to his God. They asked King Darius to issue a decree calling on everyone to bow to him in worship and adoration.

When Daniel heard about the decree, his reponse (Dan 6:10) was to pray and worship God – three times a day – as he had always done. He was a man of honor in all things – including his spiritual life.

What is honor? What does it mean when you refer to someone as an honorable person? One definition of honor is demonstrating integrity in one’s beliefs and actions.

Don’t we need more people seeking to demonstrate honor today? What if the business world would have been just a little more honorable – do you think we’d be in the economic mess that we’re in today? Greatness is not measured by what we achieve professionally … greatness is not striving for whatever I can get out of life … greatness is measured by our character – and there’s no higher character trait than honor.
Daniel’s life is a story of honor. He was exactly who appeared to be – transparent, honest, dedicated to God and loyal. He’s a role model of honor – even today.

Becoming a Person of Honor

1. PRELIMINARY: Start by understanding your identity as a follower of Christ: you’re righteous, holy and a child of God because of Christ in your life. 2 Cor 5:17
v.1 — king set people to rule over the land …

2. Cultivate a positive attitude (Daniel 6:3)

3. Be faithful in all you do – especially in your daily life (Daniel 6:4)

4. Seek personal purity (Daniel 6:4)

“ … no fault was found in him …”

5. Walk consistently with God (Daniel 6:10-16)

Walk – Gal 5:16 – walk in the spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. “Walk” means to be continually occupied with the things of God … and automatically — you will live out a more pure life.

God closed the mouths of the lions all night long. God spared Daniel’s life. No matter what, Daniel was a man of honor so he couldn’t go against the God he loved and worshipped.