fast day eight: Daniel 5

It's easy to gasp in horror at what a hideous sin it was to use objects stolen from the Temple for your big drunken bash. So what was the crime exactly? Belshazzar used something that was holy to God for his own selfish purposes. Boiled down like that, it starts to sound a little more familiar.

Since we're fasting, I think we're all more aware than usual of our bodies. The Bible asks in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." So if you are following Christ, your body is every bit as holy as cups and candlesticks from the Temple.

Let's talk about the word holy. When I was a kid, I kind of had the idea that holy meant glow in the dark or something mysterious. But holy simply means set apart by God for a special purpose. Think about that one perfect strawberry that you save to put on top of a pie. (Wait, I don't mean pie, I mean fruit tray, right? We can't have pie!) That one has been set apart for a special purpose. All Belshazzar did was desecrate, misuse, take advantage of, or spoil something that was holy.

Man. So many things come to mind then that make us guilty of that. Junk we eat. Gossip we listen to. Trash we talk. Shows we watch. Lust we feed. The list goes on and on, but I don't want to sound negative. Does Daniel show us any way out?

Well, even through the collapse of the Babylonian empire, Daniel still comes out on top. He just goes on to the next chapter to a new king. Why? Because Daniel as a man of integrity. He is who God says he is no matter who's looking or what the stakes are.

Integrity is what we need to put off those unholy behaviors that defile our holy temples. For Christians, we know how we're "supposed" to live. So, many of the ways we desecrate our bodies becomes secret sin. Stuff you don't just float out in casual conversation. "So weird to bump into you in the store like this. Hey, did you hear that I'm considering having an affair? Oh, I see you picked up some Twinkies. Man, I eat those by the box when the kids aren't home. Well, I gotta run!" Of course not. Belshazzar did it in front of his friends because he had no shame. But shame often isn't enough to stop us. So instead, satan uses shame as a tool to keep us under his thumb and allow the sin to continue. Instead of being open and addressing the sin, we try to hide it.

But sin doesn't hide as neatly as we'd like. If you're keeping a pet rhino, your neighbors will turn you in at some point. So think about it. How might you be defiling God's holy temple? We're off to a good start on the eating thing if that's your deal. With some confession to a friend and some accountability, you can get yourself in check. Whatever it is though, don't wait until the handwriting is on the wall to make a change.