For the Hell of It

Before going to bed last night, I couldn't help but notice the Bible Diary I got as a gift from Roji last year. It was sitting on my side table all dusty and untouched for a few weeks. So being the Curious George I am, I open it up and scan towards 23 November 2009.

Here's the First Reading, from the Book of Daniel,

Daniel's Training in Babylon

 ¹ In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. ² And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia ^[a] and put in the treasure house of his god.

 ³ Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility- ⁴ young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king's palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. ^{[b] 5} The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king's table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king's service.

 ⁶ Among these were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. ⁷ The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.

 ⁸ But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. ⁹ Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel, ¹⁰ but the official told Daniel, "I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your ^[c] food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you."

 ¹¹ Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, ¹² "Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. ¹³ 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." ¹⁴ So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.

 ¹⁵ At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. ¹⁶ So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.

 ¹⁷ 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.

 ¹⁸ At the end of the time set by the king to bring them in, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹ The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king's service. ²⁰ 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.

For those like me who aren't well versed when it comes to the Bible and do not know who the characters are, Daniel was famous for interpreting dreams, and yes, is considered by the Christians as one of the four major Prophets besides Jeremiah, Isaiah, and, uhh, Ezekiel? (Please correct me if I'm wrong) 

So what am I trying to point out here? Nothing in particular. To be frank, I felt it was just one of those Readings that the Church has to go through just for the sake of having the traditional Readings before the Holy Gospel. But what really caught my attention was Daniel 1:12:

"Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink.

So first, the random thought and enthusiasm within sparked. What an awesome way to test my patience and enhance my prayer life. For me to isolate myself from the worldly ways I am accustomed to, and to turn to God for the strength! Think of it guys, its like a reminder for me to live the life that the Lord wants me to by showing me in scripture (I don't really try to interpret everything I read in the Bible and relate it with my life, but this just sounded like a fun idea). Maybe God wants me to be healthy? Maybe God wants to test me? Or being the human that I am, I want to test myself and see how far I can go.

So who knows, what if I do make the 10 days and become "ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom." Dn 1:20?

But, I totally screwed up Day 1 thanks to the calzone I bought for breakfast at Domino's. I totally forgot about it. Come Day 2, 'the New Start day', I screw up again thanks to the scrumptious brunch the IAA Office served for Mr Holmes' birthday. So starting tomorrow, (with all hopes high), I shall test my obedience by eating nothing but vegetables and water for 10 days. So help me God!