Daniel: A Faithful Young ProfessionalSample

When our "stars are rising", when our lives start to shine, there is no way of avoiding jealousy and resistance. Daniel literally experiences this when the king is considering whether to appoint him as governor over the entire kingdom (Dan. 6:4). The other governors are jealous and try to destroy him. However, they are unable to find anything unlawful to accuse him of except for his faith in the God of Jerusalem. Daniel’s innocence is not going to help him. Daniel ends up in the lions’ den (Dan. 6:17-23). Similarly, our innocence will not help us if we are in the way of certain people. We will discover this when others start seeing us as their competition and try to destroy us. They use gossip, rumors, manipulation, blackmail, and other tactics. Some people will do anything to achieve their goals. It is not always true that the good guy wins. On the contrary, in a competitive culture, unfortunately, most admiration is for the survivor or the winner, even if they used illegal means. Too often only the winner counts. But Daniel refuses to conform. He remains who he is, and he maintains his faith in God (Dan. 6:11). It is God who directs him through his hard times (Dan. 6: 22-23) and gives him a new future. "So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian" (Dan. 6:28).

If we think about finding happiness in our work or career, we should never focus on a limited set of positions or possibilities, for then we start thinking in terms of scarcity and competition. We end up in a culture of fighting the competition. Instead, in your work, it is more important to think in terms of calling and service. Try to be happy by serving, loving, and blessing, then you will be able to find happiness in any job, in any position, and under any circumstances.

This reminds me of Henk’s story. Henk is an entrepreneur in the construction sector. One day a local contractor in his town went bankrupt. Shortly after, I visited Henk at home, and I saw this bankrupt contractor leave his house. When I asked him about this, he said, "Well, yes, I helped him with a loan so that he can start a new company". I was surprised and asked, "Why would you help the competition start a new company?" Henk replied, "I just wanted to do this. It makes me happy. Besides, I believe that God can give us more than you and I are able to earn together."

We may live from what God gives us and from His grace. This realization gave Henk the liberty and the opportunity not to feel threatened and to help his colleague because he wanted to serve him.

Question for the day:
How do you look at your colleagues within and outside of your company?