In Daniel 3, the fourth figure in the furnace offers a reminder that God is WITH us in the midst of our trials and tribulations, as Deanna so beautifully testified in her sermon last week. But for all that these two stories seem to have in common, that analysis doesn’t work quite as well in chapter 6. There WAS an angelic presence with Daniel in the lion’s den, but it’s difficult to argue that this figure is meant to be the story’s focus. Here, God’s messenger is only mentioned incidentally as a way to explain how Daniel survived, not as a major plot point.
In fact, if we read this chapter carefully, Daniel almost comes across as a background character. There are only three verses (out of 27) in which he’s the primary actor, and his actions and words in these three verses (in maintaining his prayer routine and explaining how he survived the lions) are merely plot devices to drive the narrative action forward. Could it be that this story isn’t actually about Daniel at all, as we’ve been led to believe for most of our lives? Maybe, given Daniel’s one-dimensional portrayal in this chapter, the story’s moral resides in the motivations, words, and actions of an entirely different character.
So who are we supposed to relate to, if not the heroic Daniel? Since most of us are just trying to live our lives, not wishing harm upon anyone in particular and certainly not actively seeking it, I don’t think it makes much sense to identify with the scheming officers and chief administrators. But I suspect that we don’t see ourselves in King Darius to the degree that maybe we should. Thanks to our Sunday School lessons, we largely picture him as the foolish ruler of a distant land – the opposite of us in every way – but we might benefit from focusing on what we have in common with him instead.
Set aside the fact that he’s a king for a moment. Here’s an individual, living his life in a society that’s not perfect, but at least seems to be functioning alright in general. It’s the kind of place where an outsider is able to work his way up to a position of authority through hard work and unimpeachable character. But some privileged insiders feel threatened by the idea that someone they see as “below them” could wind up with too much power, too much autonomy, so they become determined to stop that from happening.
As a result, Darius finds himself on the receiving end of some very pointed messaging. The privileged insiders propose new laws, laws that make Darius feel important and safe. Laws that imply that outsiders are a threat; laws that prohibit them from exercising their own beliefs in their private lives. The insiders – let’s call them the “Lawmakers” – they make these laws sound like patriotism, and what could be bad about that? The messaging is overwhelming and persuasive, and so Darius votes for – I mean, enacts these new laws.
But it turns out that he hadn’t considered the consequences of this law all the way through. The lawmakers purposely kept their actual intentions quiet, so when Darius is finally able to see the actual impact that the laws have on people he knows and cares about, he’s devastated. He tries to save his friend from the prescribed punishment – recognizing that the law was unfair in at least SOME cases– but the lawmakers insist that the law is absolute and can’t be changed. Darius felt that his hands were tied – what could he do? So he allows his friend to be thrown to the lions.
Retold in this way, does any of this feel relatable? Can you see the parallels to our own lives? As sensible and sophisticated as we may like to consider ourselves, it’s surprisingly easy to manipulate human beings. It’s why marketing and political strategy are such lucrative careers. We all readily allow flattery, misdirection, and falsehoods to guide us towards policies and decisions that sound good in the moment. We don’t fully think through the consequences (because a lot of money and effort is invested to make sure we don’t) until it’s too late. And while Daniel’s story ended happily for him, not everyone has an angel sent to protect them. People can actually suffer and die because of our shortsightedness regarding these policies. Good people, people just trying to live their lives, people that we interact with every day, even people that we know and love.
Those with a vested interest in these laws for their own selfish reasons try to convince us that they can’t be changed once we realize their actual impact. They need us to believe that it’s too late, too difficult, or, most insidiously, won’t make any difference. King Darius didn’t question this assertion; he fussed and fretted, tried to find a loophole, but ultimately allowed Daniel to be thrown into the lions’ den - even though every bone in his body was telling him not to. How absurd is that? That the KING, who signed the law AND actually had to give the order for it to be carried out, would believe that his hands were tied to change it?
The fact is that no human law is ever absolute. They don’t even exist until human beings who are just as fallible as any of us invent them out of thin air, often based on nothing more than feelings or best guesses. These laws are occasionally made with the very best of intentions, but never with the sort of immutability that some might suggest or imply. They can be DIFFICULT to change, especially when they’re specifically designed to disenfranchise those most harmed by them, but it’s always within SOMEONE’S power to do so.
Now, we may not have the power of royalty, but we famously, proudly, live in a representative democracy. Our votes determine who gets to make the law – and sometimes, our votes get to decide the law itself. We may find ourselves believing that we’re powerless in the face of laws and policies that wind up hurting people, but this is a false helplessness. It’s just as absurd for us to believe that our hands are tied as it is for King Darius to believe it!
But even if we’re able to get past the deceitful message that nothing can be done, we then face another paralyzing thought: how do we know what laws need to be changed? What if we accidentally wind up making things worse? After all, things still seem pretty okay for most of us. “It must be the law for a reason,” we think. So, out of a dangerous combination of trepidation and inertia, we defer to the authority of the existing legal system and the people we’ve entrusted to administer them.
King Darius didn’t question the “the law of Media and Persia, which cannot be annulled,” because he assumed it to be the highest authority there was. But even in the midst of carrying it out, there was still something telling him that Daniel was innocent. Even though the legal documents he’d signed said otherwise, he could tell that what he was doing was somehow wrong, even though it was legal. This is because there was an even higher law trying to make itself known in his heart. It took HIM until the end of the chapter to figure out, but you may already be able to guess what it is: the Law of God.
I’m not talking about the rules found in the Bible, many of which were given to a specific people in a specific time. They can be misunderstood depending on what biblical translation you use or how you interpret their meaning. I’m talking about principles that we don’t necessarily need to be taught because we’re all born with them already in our hearts. Christian ethics calls these principles “Natural Law” – which is driven by ideas like justice and mercy, mutual care and love. Because these principles are already in all human hearts, no one has any excuse not to live by them. These laws are eternal and inescapable, and THEY are what constitutes the ultimate authority on human lives.
God’s Law is the standard that all human laws should rightly be measured against. This is the ONLY law that seeks what’s best for ALL people. This is what should have caused King Darius to pause when the new law was first proposed, and to repeal it as soon as he realized what he’d done. And this is how we can recognize when a civil law needs to be changed – when God’s Law in our heart tells us it’s wrong. We may not always get it right the first time, but we just keep trying until one day, when human laws perfectly match God’s laws, we find ourselves in the kindom of heaven.
One lesson from Sunday School that DID age well is that those who love God should always try to do what God tells us is right, regardless of human authorities. And one way that we do that is by changing what isn’t. This week, the US election season enters the home stretch as the final major political party holds its National Convention. As rallies and debates gain momentum, it’s easy for USAmericans to assume that the election is about the candidates, but I’d argue that it’s about something much more important: in this and every election, we’re declaring what sort of laws we want to govern us. And it’s our chance to see what isn’t working and change it.
I will never tell you WHO to vote for, but I am more than happy to tell you WHAT, as a Christian, *I* will be voting for. I will NOT be voting for any particular rules that I want to see enacted – because to be honest, there’s no guarantee that any of the promises made on the campaign trail will be kept. Instead, I’ll be voting for justice. I’ll be voting for compassion. I’ll be voting for kindness. I’ll be voting for integrity. I’ll be voting for loving my neighbor. And to be clear; I’ll be doing this for not just in two and a half months, but in every single election for the rest of my life. I will be voting for these things, because that’s how I believe I can best honor God’s Law.
No matter which politicians wind up prevailing in November, I will not consider the work done. I will continue to pay attention to how those in office live out the values that I voted for, in their speeches, in their own votes, and in their lives, every single day. And if they let me down, I’ll remember at the next election. Because admitting that something isn’t working isn’t failure, it’s strength. And none of the people in our government – not a single one – is the King. That title already belongs to Christ.
I am determined to do whatever I can to help create a world where legality and innocence are not automatically assumed to be the same thing. Where we care more about treating each other justly than treating each other fairly. Where we recognize that our hands are NOT tied, and we’re ultimately beholden to a higher Law than any written on Capitol Hill. I hope that you’ll join me – and not starting in November but starting right now, today. Amen.
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