Every person from whatever background has the opportunity to do what is right.

As we see in the news, each evening not everyone makes use of their opportunities.

Some are determined to do wrong and forget right. Society today wants to blame such bad choices on the things around the individual. In some cases, perhaps and only perhaps this might be true.

Most of the time the individual decides to do whatever they are going to do because they are determined to do the thing. There is always a right way, but it must be followed.

The story of Daniel in the Old Testament shows how this works.

Daniel was not in the best situation a person could want to be in. When we are first introduced to him, he is a slave who has been taken from his homeland by a ruthless nation. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked the city of Jerusalem on three different occasions. and took away many of the people captive.

We find in Daniel chapter one that it was during the third year of Jehoiakim’s reign that Daniel as well as others was taken captive. From the text it is believed by most that Daniel was made a eunuch for service in the kingdom of Babylon (Daniel 1). Think of his situation, taken from your homeland and family, enduring the life of a slave, yet in all that happened he determined to do what was right in God’s sight.

When he and the others arrived in Babylon, he was placed on a type of training program. He as well as some others was considered to be intelligent and able to work in the kingdom of Babylon in the future. They were given certain privileges, one of which was special food from the king. Daniel being Jewish knew he was not to eat certain foods. Most in his place would have gone along with the crowd and not made any waves. But Daniel was determined to do right.

He made an agreement with those in his charge to not eat the king’s food but to eat simple food (pulse and water) and not to violate the Jewish law concerning food.

His determination to do right brought great blessing to him from God.

Today many hardships can face each of us. It is so important that we have a determination to do right, no matter what comes our way.

In order to do what is right we must know what is right.

We need to go to God for the answer to this question of “What is right?”

God from the time He began dealing with man has desired two things. First that man has a right relationship with Him, and secondly that man has a right relationship with man. If the Ten Commandments are looked at closely it is found that the first four deal with man’s relationship with God and the last six have to do with man dealing with man. When the New Testament under which we live today is studied one will find that this line of thought is carried over to our day. Jesus said, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:30, 31).

So back to the question, “What is right?” Obey God according to His terms given in His word. Treat your fellow man as you would want to be treated. Daniel did just that, he chose to follow God. God’s word tells us how to be pleasing to God, obey the gospel by having faith, repenting of our sins, confessing before men that Jesus is the Son of God, being baptized for the remission of our sins and living for God. If we do these things we will accomplish the second thing (treating others as we would be treated) in living faithfully to God.