Learning to Lead with Daniels’ Wisdom
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
— Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love
How do you respond when under great pressure in your leadership? What about when the pressure is coming from someone with authority over you? If you are like me, sometimes you find it difficult to respect those in authority while simultaneously clinging to your convictions.
In the book of Daniel, four young Hebrew men were in just such a situation. The people of Judah had been exiled to Babylon, and these four young men were forced into servitude for King Nebuchadnezzar. While they were being trained for this position, they were stripped of their names, language, and culture.
In this situation, Daniel—the de facto leader of the group—demonstrated how to act wisely under such pressure, respecting the authority over him while standing firm in his convictions. Here are a few things we can learn about how to act wisely under pressure.
Wisdom in the Small
Daniel didn’t wait for the huge moments to practice wise and faithful living. Starting with something small—the food he would eat—Daniel exercised wisdom in how he approached not defiling himself. He asked the one in authority over him to “Please test your servants for ten days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink” (Daniel 1:12).
By exercising wisdom and obedience to God in this small area, he prepared himself to act wisely later when the stakes were greater. In the very next chapter, when an irrationally furious Nebuchadnezzar ordered all the wise men to be killed (including Daniel and his friends), Daniel utilized his practiced wisdom to save the lives of many (see Daniel 2).
Daniel was prepared to act with swift and wise action because he had acted this way on a smaller scale many times before. As Jesus would say centuries later, “Whoever is faithful in very little is also faithful in much, and whoever is unrighteous in very little is also unrighteous in much” (Luke 16:10).
Wisdom in Convictions
The second thing we notice about Daniel is that he demonstrated wisdom in his convictions. He understood his obedience to God superseded obedience to all other authorities. That is why Daniel and his friends chose not to defile themselves with the king’s food, and later Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego chose not to bow down in front of Nebuchadnezzar’s gold statue, even under threat of death (see Daniel 3).
Daniel and his friends obeyed God above all else, understanding that, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10).
Or as Jesus put it, “Don’t fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).
Wisdom in Discernment
That being said, Daniel also took time to discern which battles to fight and which were not ultimately worth it. We see that Daniel does not actively resist his name change nor being a servant to the king. And since Daniel has such wise discernment, God is able to use it to provide Daniel with great opportunities. In fact, Daniel is eventually promoted to “ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief governor over all the wise men of Babylon” (Daniel 2:48).
Jesus often demonstrated this wisdom as well. Once when the Pharisees tried to trap Jesus by asking him if the Jewish people should pay taxes to the Romans—a law Jewish listeners would have despised, yet was harshly enforced by the Roman army—Jesus responded wisely, saying, “Give, then, to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21).
Both Jesus and Daniel understood when to accommodate the requests of authority and when to stand up for their own convictions.
Wisdom in Approach
The final area where Daniel shows wisdom is in his approach. Throughout an extremely difficult situation—even while he refused to obey authority—he never responded bullishly or in anger. We see Daniel and his friends continually appeal to God in prayer and appeal to authority with the influence God has given them.
They also never acted unrighteously to get their way. Being so close to Nebuchadnezzar provided ample opportunity to use violence or deceit to advantage themselves (as we see many of the king’s other closest advisors doing throughout Daniel). And yet Daniel and his friends acted, as Jesus said, “as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16).
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As we lead in the face of pressures and unrighteous authority, let us act as wise and righteous as Daniel. And let us ultimately follow the wisest leader under pressure, Jesus.
To consider:
1. When was a time in your life that you struggled to lead under pressure? When was a time you led well under pressure?
2. Of the four areas of wisdom in Daniel—small things, convictions, discernment, and approach—which is most difficult for you? How can you work in small ways this week to lead wisely under pressure?
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