Daniel was captivated to the foreign land. His devotion enlights me on my understanding of godly living. Daniel dared to disobey the emperor’s order and refrain from taking their food to avoid being defiled by wicked culture (see Daniel 1:8). The Bible does not say much about the context of the time, and it is not known if Daniel had received very clear instructions from God. I wonder if Daniel’s devotion is the best reaction when putting the struggle into today’s context. What do we expect from a totalitarian emperor who was publicly humiliated by a captive of a subjugated nation? Daniel could save his life; what else could it be if it wasn’t a miracle? We live in the intersection of the secular world and the heavenly realm. It is not easy to live out what the Bible teaches and respectfully negotiate issues with people who hold different beliefs without compromising our values. But I wonder if the struggle is a matter of our instinct to dichotomize problems. The life of Jesus often displayed wisdom that could be extracted from the “trap of dichotomy.” Someone asked Jesus if he should pay taxes to Caesar. He was not forced into a dilemma by the “give or not.” But he asked who the figure on the coin was, and it came to the famous quote: “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s. – Matthew 22:21.”