Overview:
Daniel 6:1–23
Ours is a day of bending the rules and rationalizing the wrong. A growing number of Christians are buying into the mentality that says, “Grace covers whatever . . . go ahead, God understands and forgives.” The results are somewhere between embarrassing and scandalous. Issues such as marital commitment, sexual purity, intellectual honesty, and financial accountability are up for discussion rather than character traits to embrace. Even the ranks of ministry have been tainted. The need? A return to integrity . . . not sinless perfection but absolute honesty and an absence of duplicity. Impossible? Let’s let Daniel’s life answer that for us.
Message Summary:
- True integrity is doing the right thing when no one is looking or when everyone else is compromising.
- Real integrity remains steady during both the test of adversity (surviving with little) and the test of prosperity (remaining pure when successful) [18–19, 33].
- Broken integrity in a spiritual leader may lead to the forfeiture of the right to lead. Swindoll argues that while God offers complete forgiveness, a "weakness of moral character" can permanently cost a leader the public trust required for their position, much like a pardoned felon may still lose the right to vote [34–38].
Message Key Facts:
- Definition of Integrity: Swindoll defines integrity using the Hebrew word tom, meaning "completeness" or "soundness." He suggests the best American synonym for this blend of courage and principle is "guts"—the guts to tell the truth even when it hurts [9–10].
- "Men Without Chests": Quoting C.S. Lewis in response to a Marines scandal, Swindoll argues that mere knowledge of right and wrong is powerless against appetites. Reason must rule appetite through the "spirited element," or the "chest." He warns that society laughs at honor and is then shocked to find traitors in its midst [11–13].
- The Steer in a Blizzard: Daniel is described as "a steer in a blizzard"—a man who stood firm against the elements of a hostile culture for decades, proving that longevity in ministry is rooted in character.
- The Two Tests: Swindoll identifies two major tests of character:
- Adversity: The struggle to survive when resources are scarce (Proverbs 24:10).
- Prosperity: The struggle to maintain equilibrium when given privacy, money, and success. Swindoll notes that for every one man who can stand prosperity, there are a hundred who can stand adversity [18–19].
- The Medical Student's Stand: The sermon includes a letter from a medical student who refused to cheat despite pressure from peers and professors. When told she was "hopelessly incompetent" for rocking the boat, she replied, "At least I have character, and that's more important to me than grades" [28–30].
- The Cost of Broken Trust: Swindoll draws a hard line regarding leadership restoration. He posits that while sexual sins are forgivable, they are sins "against one's own body" that reveal deep character flaws. Therefore, a fallen leader may be forgiven but still disqualified from the privilege of public leadership [35–37].
Message References:
- Daniel 6: The primary narrative text, detailing the conspiracy against Daniel, his faithfulness in prayer, and his deliverance from the lions' den.
- Psalm 78:72: "He fed them according to the integrity of his heart and guided them with the skillfulness of his hands."
- Proverbs 24:10: "If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small."
- James 3:1: The warning that teachers of the truth will incur a "stricter judgment."
- 1 Corinthians 6:18: The warning that the immoral person sins against their own body.
- Job 4:6: Eliphaz’s question to Job: "Is not your fear of God your confidence, and the integrity of your ways your hope?"
- Proverbs 20:7: "A righteous man who walks in his integrity—how blessed are his sons after him."
