Enlightenment and Excellence

But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.

—Daniel 1:8 KJV

{This morning, I randomly stumbled across the Bible verses that talk about  when mankind started and stopped being vegan! Speaking to Adam, Genesis 1:29 says, “Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food.” A few chapters later, things change in Genesis 9:2-3 when God says to Noah, “All the animals of the earth... will look on you with fear and terror... I have given them to you for food, just as I have given you grain and vegetables.”}

A lot can be said about what changed between the time when mankind survived by only eating plants, fruits, vegetables, and grains in Genesis 1:29 to the time when God made a new covenant with Noah, giving him permission to eat animals in Genesis 9:3. First and foremost, Noah was close to God, but he was never as close as Adam was before Adam was banished from the habitat he was formed in. Nevertheless, I am not aiming to convert anyone to vegan-ism today. I am only aiming to paint a picture of how what we eat (our common diet, or at very least our lack of fasting) has adverse effect on our proximity to godliness and our ability to be in tune with our highest version of our purest selves.

We often talk about the book of Daniel in the Bible when we desire to talk about “the spirit of excellence.” Daniel was very disciplined, excellent in the things he did, and had a divine ability to interpret dreams—in other words, he was gifted (almost spiritually). We also often tell people that they should strive to be more like Daniel: gifted and excellent. The problem is that when we tell people to do this, it is somewhat as though we are saying they should be excellent on their own strength with their own human effort. We rarely acknowledge how much of Daniel’s excellence was affected by what he ate. (Disclaimer: I am not one hundred percent sure if Daniel’s vegetable diet was a permanent diet or a temporary one—something like a fast, but I do know we can say his eating habit was an integral component to his excellence.)

Our reference scripture today says Daniel “chose not to defile himself” by eating the king’s choice delicacies. In the story of Daniel, one of the king’s officials told Daniel that he feared Daniel would begin looking feeble because of his vegetable and water diet, but Daniel responded to him by saying in Daniel 1:12-13, “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.” The Bible says that after ten days, Daniel and his peers looked “healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food.” So, the guard continued to allow them to eat only vegetables and drink only water. Verse 17 then says, “To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.” This verse says it was God who gave them this enlightenment; meaning they did not receive their wisdom in a natural way. Daniel and his peers’ supreme intelligence (and connection to God) directly resulted from what they ate.

What really stuck out to me when reading this passage was when the Bible then says in verses 18-20 that, “At the end of the time set by the king to bring them into his service, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service. In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.” These verses show us that Daniel and his peers functioned at an even higher capacity than those who practiced magic! It often amazes me why the correlation between what we eat and our mental-excellence (mental health) and enlightenment is not highlighted more in society today. My interest was peaked this morning when I read our reference verse that says Daniel did not want to “defile” himself with the king’s expensive, choice meals—Wow. Who knew that certain foods had the ability to defile our functionality and effectiveness?

Remember today that excellence is not only about forcing ourselves to be disciplined, blessed, or happy. It is not just about praying daily or watching the company we keep and things of that nature (all of which Daniel and his peers did do). Our brain, mentality, hormones, and emotions are scientifically designed to be affected by what we eat. Even the Bible says it is not mandatory for us to live off of fruits, vegetables, plants, and grains. However, I would like to present the idea to somebody today that if we would like to increase our enlightenment and excellence, it might be beneficial for us to (at least on occasion) revert back to the basics when it comes to our diet.

Lots of Love, XO