The book of Daniel tells us that Daniel and his friends were exiled to a foreign nation, Babylon, after Jerusalem was besieged. The text tells us that they were young. We find this in Daniel 1:3-4: “Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king’s palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.”

Although we’re not told their specific age, some scholars speculate they were most likely around fifteen years old.

What are most fifteen-year-olds doing? They are going to high school, maybe thinking about members of the opposite sex, engaging in hobbies or sports, and starting to think about what career they might have. Not so for Daniel and his friends. They were forcibly exiled into captivity. 

As a part of their training to serve the king, they could have benefited from the king’s food and wine (verse 5). It would have been the best in the land. The king’s wine cellar was surely bigger than a New York City block. After having their former lives destroyed, it surely would have been easy to say, ‘Let’s have at it!’

There’s an expression: “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” The same could be said here for these young people: “When in Babylon, do as the Babylonians do!” But they didn’t. They chose to keep focused on God.

Something we can take from this passage is the importance of staying true to God despite the pressures to go along with everything that is happening around us. Daniel and his friends refused to blend in—and this is something from which we can learn.

Are we quick to lose our convictions as soon as other people disagree? Do we shed our way of life just because it will put us in the minority? Do we care more about fitting in with the world than being faithful to the Lord?

It starts with small things. Conversations, comments, skipping certain activities, starting others. So let’s be wise and deliberate. 

As a follower of Christ, it is more important to be faithful to the Lord than to fit in with the world.

Notes:
-Bible quotes are from the ESV.