Being there for Christ 

How would we sum up what we have learned from the book of Daniel?  We should be struck by Daniel’s longevity – over 65 years.  We first feel him as a YTS player but by the end he is a senior pro.  Not that it was all plain sailing.  As a teenager he had to nail his colours to the mast by taking his stand over the food.  Under Nebuchadnezzar he was top man but when Belshazzar succeeded him as gaffer, Daniel lost his place in the first team.  Then he came good again in the twilight of his career. 

Some verses in Chapter 2 give us his secret.  He depended on God.  When the King had a dream, which disturbed him and planned to kill all his wise men, what did Daniel do?   “Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.  He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon….

The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar), "Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?"     Daniel replied, "No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about,  but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries." He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come.

Daniel 2:17-18, 26-28)

If you are going through a period where you are out of the team or your contribution to the club is not valued – or as a sports professional you are just struggling to get enough work to survive, what should you do.  First pray!  Then depend on God.  Don’t let your head drop.  Keep giving 100%.

Remember that your ability is God's gift. And give it to him, and give it to your peers at that club.  Have you ever sat down and said to yourself my gifts come from the Almighty creator of the universe. I found my level of ability, I know what I can do now, and from this day on and tomorrow and the next day, I use this ability first of all for God. And secondly, as a result of using it for God, I will work so hard in the world of sport. Say your prayers, put your life in perspective and see who you are in relation to Almighty God. That's what Daniel did and he made quite an impact.

A question that you might be asking is does it really matter how I live?  remember

how Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego risked death in the fiery furnace.  Now that story may have provoked two questions in your mind: how did they manage to take their stand for God, and why was it so important anyway?  While you are unlikely to be threatened with death today, the question does it matter if I compromise in the club today, is still a relevant one.

Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel chapter 2 and Daniel’s interpretation of it may give us the clue.  The climax was as follows.  “The God who rules from heaven will set up an eternal kingdom that will never fall”. Daniel 2:44

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego knew who really was King, and which kingdom would last.  The dream  reminded them that it is God who was the real King, and his kingdom that would ultimately last.  God may have delegated his rule to humans, but at any point when God’s rule is challenged, the believer is to take their stance. 

Daniel 3:16-18 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. ¹⁷ If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. ¹⁸ But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."
 

Chapter 3v17-18 makes the believers’ stance clear – they serve God not for what they can get out of him (rescue is not the issue), but simply because he is God – there is no choice in their minds.  They must obey God.  They act in the present because they know the reality of the future.

Obedience in contemporary Christianity is often politely ignored.  We are quick to justify our actions – nobody does not today - and blame our lack of obedience on circumstances.  If we really understood and believed in God’s eternal kingdom, we would have the motivation to obey God.

The story ends on the triumphal truth that God will prove himself King, and in the process rescue all those who belong to that Kingdom.  It is not a promise of physical rescue.  As Hebrews 11v32ff reminds us of people who endured hardship because “they were sure that they would get a better reward when the dead are raised to life” (Hebrews 11:35b).

So as you give your all today, do it for God because of who he is and out of love for him.  While we do not serve God for what we can get out of it, the fact is that he has promised eternal life and indescribable pleasures to all who love him.

In a way the key question for Daniel, Sadrach, Meshach and Abednego is:

Who are you trying to please? There are so many possibilities.  Is it the coach, the crowd (if you are lucky enough to have one!), your boss, yourself?  Of course it is right to want to please the boss.  That is what you are employed to do. 

Dirk Heinen has played football for several top German clubs, currently Stuttgart.  He summed it up like this

“My motivation as I have already said is to live my life in a way that pleased God.  So when if I play in a stadium and there are 80,000 spectators, I still think, there is actually only one that I would like to please.  His name is Jesus”.

Now much of the time there is no conflict.  We can do what our boss wants and please God at the same time.

Remember the Jewish boys in Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.  They happily served the king of Babylon.  They were senior officials in  a Babylonian province and happy to be there.  Then suddenly an issue arose where they had to draw a line.  King Nebuchadnezzar announced that everyone had to worship an image of gold that had been set up.  The lads went about their daily business.  They worked hard for the king but they had to draw the line here.  They would not worship the image.

When they were called to account by the king, they explained: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.  Daniel 3:16-18
 

Here was a situation where they knew that God was King and that he demanded obedience.  They knew they must remain loyal to him however great the pressure to compromise.  That loyalty and obedience involved both doing what God had said – remaining faithful to him – and not doing what God had told them not to – worshipping the image of God.

As we live for Christian in the world of sport, the challenge is the same.  We are to live by God’s standards of love, integrity, honesty.  On the field we are to play with fairness, not trying to con the officials, not shouting ‘my ball’ when we know it isn’t, not pulling the opponent’s shirt on the blind side of the officials.  Off the field we will treat people with integrity and respect.  We will treat sex as a gift from God and accept his rules.

This story shows us how we, like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego can refuse to compromise in the face of extreme pressure because we know that God is King. 

Graham and Stuart

< back to issues list

Top of the page