Daniel 6:4 (NLT) Then the other administrators and high officers began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling government affairs, but they couldn’t find anything to criticize or condemn. He was faithful, always responsible, and completely trustworthy.

There are some people who never see the good in others. Even if someone did something really well, people like that will try to find some fault in what they did. They just can't get themselves to say something positive. Daniel faced something like that but much, much worse. His critics were not just trying to find fault with him but because of jealousy, they wanted to see him dead. Their first plan didn't work, which was to spy on him and catch him doing something wrong. The plan didn't work because they couldn't find Daniel ever doing anything wrong. If they wanted to accuse Daniel of anything, they were going to have to do it in a devious way. They did succeed in accusing him of something: praying! They tricked the king into signing a new law that said that no one was allowed to pray to anyone but the king for thirty days and the penalty for praying to anyone else would be that the person caught doing so would be thrown into a den of lions to be mauled and eaten. They knew that Daniel was faithful to his God and that he would probably continue to pray to the Lord so they thought that they had him licked. But as we know, Daniel was faithful to God but God was also faithful to him and He rescued him from the hungry lions. The king, seeing God's protection over Daniel, realized the evil plot that had been hatched against him and ordered the people who came up with that plan to be thrown into the lion's den. Without God to protect them, they lost their lives.

People who don't serve God but that know that you do are always on the lookout to see what fault they can find in you. As soon as they see a kink in your armor, you may hear them say, "Ah, and I thought you were a Christian!" They love to cut down people who are faithful to God because they want to bring everyone down to their level. They don't like the fact that you live differently and that you don't engage in the sins that they engage in. That messes with them, so they look to see if they can catch you in some act that is unbecoming of a follower of Christ. But what if, like Daniel, no one could find anything in your life to criticize or condemn? What if you live such an upright life that people would give up trying to find something wrong? Does that sound far-fetched? Well it isn't. It's the way that we are called to live when Jesus Christ is not only Savior but Lord of your life as well. It's not that you become perfect, but that the perfect one, Jesus, lives in you and is working in you and empowering you to live a holy life. That's the miracle of a transformed life and it is something that gets people's attention and winds up bringing a lot of glory to God, not to mention the blessing that it brings to your life. On top of that, your life is insulated from criticism and condemnation from others because there will be no wrong in you for anyone to find. We may not reach perfection, but even being on the road to perfection is awesome and has great results!

Pastor Joey Vazquez