Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:
1It was fair before Darius to appoint upon the kingdom the governors one hundred and twenty that they might be in the all of the kingdom, 2and above them three administrators which Daniel [was] one from them as that the governors might be ones giving to them the account and the king not to him one suffering damage. 3Then this Daniel was distinguishing himself upon the administrators and the governors because the spirit of the excellence [was] in him and the king [was] one intending to appoint him upon the all of the kingdom. 4Then the administrators and the governors were ones seeking a pretext to find to Daniel concerning the kingdom and not ones being able to find all of a pretext and corruption because he [was] trustworthy and all of a negligence and corruption [was] not found upon him. 5Then these men [were] ones saying, “Not we will find all of a pretext to this Daniel unless we find [it] upon him in the law of his God.”
These five verses teach us a lot about our Daniel, but they also teach us a lot about the world we live in. Again, may I remind us all Daniel is at work. Not only is he at work, he’s also doing an excellent job at work. And what does that get him? Enemies.
It is interesting that the text never tells us why these guys hate Daniel. We’re told that Darius observed Daniel’s excellent qualities and intended to promote him to be over the entire kingdom, then immediately we read about these fellows trying hard to discredit him. Pretty much everyone I read suggests the guys are just plain jealous, or perhaps they’re peeved knowing Daniel is a lowly exile. Perhaps it wounds their pride to have him promoted above them. I’d like to suggest another possibility. These guys are all crooks.
Just like politicians and corporate executives today, these guys took their positions fully intending to use them for every possible personal advantage. They don’t really have any intention of doing their job. They’re looking for every possible way to get more money in their bank accounts. They wheel and deal, bribe and swindle, cook their books, and basically do anything it takes so they can live a life of luxury and excess. Interesting that Darius is setting up this “120 governors with three administrators” specifically so that he “won’t suffer loss.” He is (wisely) trying to arrange his government to protect himself from crooks. Yet here they are and they get away with it because “everyone’s doing it.” Oops. Not everyone. There’s this Daniel guy who isn’t. There’s this Daniel guy who’s totally honest and actually does his job. Now, they’ll tolerate him as long as he stays in his department and doesn’t cause them any problems, but now, suddenly, the boss intends to put him over the entire kingdom.
What will that mean for them? TROUBLE. Big trouble. They’ll have to actually start doing their jobs, instead of sitting at their desks and hoping the phone doesn’t ring. Suddenly they won’t be able to make their shifty backroom deals. If they cook their books, there’s a good chance they’ll be found out. One way or another, if they keep up the way they’ve been doing things, with Daniel in charge, the king will find out they’re crooks! On the other hand, if they stop their crookery, they’ll have to actually live on their salaries!
I want to insert here, that, at
first pass, it’s hard for us po’folk to understand why these guys hate Daniel.
It’s hard for me to read how Daniel is such an excellent worker and then be
hated for it. Really? In my world, way down here where we all have to work for
our livings, we appreciate people who do their jobs. But therein is the
problem, that’s not the world Daniel is working in. He’s working in the world
of high management, the world of the politicians and corporate executives, the
world of crooks. I personally think that is why everyone assumes the problem is
these guys are just jealous. That makes sense to us bottom feeders. It makes
sense for other workers to be jealous if someone of their rank gets promoted
and it wounds their pride to see one of those someones suddenly getting placed over
them. I would grant there may be some of that here, but I really suspect the
much larger problem is that Daniel’s promotion threatens what are, in reality,
just a bunch of crooks.
I guess, in some sense, it doesn’t matter why these guys hate Daniel. The sad fact of reality is that what we’re reading is a very real possibility we all have to live with—that as we would strive to follow Daniel’s example, to be honest and to do excellent work, what it may get us is hated. It happened to Daniel. It happened to Joseph. It happened to Nehemiah. It happened to Jesus! As He said, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first” (John 15:18).
In my personal experience, this has rarely been the case at work. Way down here in our work-a-day world, it’s almost always true that good work is something valued. Of course, that isn’t always true. You can work your tail off and get no raise, no bonus, not even a thank you, but then it rarely ever gets you animosity. Just in general, I would suggest that our Protestant work ethic is not only what the Lord wants of us (to work hard, do our jobs, be honest, etc.), it is also true that it will one way or another be to your benefit. As a wise author once wrote, “Hard work is your friend.”
Unfortunately, as we read here in this passage, it won’t always seem that way. Even for us po’folk, there will always be jealousy and wounded egos and, for those like Daniel who “rise to the top” there is the problem of chicanery and intrigue and political maneuvering. It is a reality we all have to recognize.
And what are we to do about it? Be a Daniel. Do it anyway. Do what we do because it’s right and because that’s who we’re determined to be. Us believers should be people who live by Col. 3:23,24, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for people, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Peter tells us, “Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, but in your hearts always set apart Christ as Lord” (I Peter 3:13-15).
What made Daniel different and what should make you and me different is that we actually have a moral compass. The Lord gives us principles to live by. For us there is and always will be right and wrong, and that moral compass He gives us ought to follow us to work every day. We should be workers just like Daniel. However, what these five simple verses teach us is that it may not always get us appreciated. It might even get us thrown in a lions’ den!
That is just reality.
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