Everyone wants to know what those at the top of the pyramid did to achieve their success.  Even when men are dead, people will examine their lives to uncover the hidden treasures that helped them attain their goals.  And this is important as many fascinating facts and practices can be uncovered and applied.

Even from a spiritual standpoint, people often dive deep, trying to unravel the clues that led someone on to be especially close to God.

In business, the high-achieving gurus will write books or put on seminars.  In religion, a biography might be written and weekend how-to sessions put on.

One of the best biographies I ever read was that of Hudson Taylor, called “It Is Not Death to Die.”

Do you want to be the next multi-million dollar business?  Revive your marriage?  Get out of debt?  Develop a “powerful” church (however you define that)?  Rest assured there’s a book, blog or seminar right around the corner, chock full of tips that will get you there from start to finish.

Years ago, I remember seeing an article on the cover of a magazine with the headline: “Learn How to Raise Good, Obedient Children in 5 Minutes”.

Could it be?  Desperate to find the solution, I quickly flipped to the article only to read the first line that went something like, “Gotcha!  There’s no such thing as a quick fix when it comes to raising kids.”  After a brief chastising for looking for a quick fix, the author made some good points about the long haul of parenting, and how inglorious, yet rewarding it can be.

The truth is that despite following the practices of high-achievers and role models, there’s the element of their character that resides deep below the surface, where the light rarely shines.  The element that cannot be copied or “put on” despite our best efforts.

But what most people want to know are the “how-to’s”.  Give me 5 steps or 7 habits.  We live in a culture where we want our advice, seminars and direction in bite-sized chunks we can easily digest and put into action right away.  And don’t forget the entertainment!  If you’re a presenter make sure to insert a joke every 2 to 3 minutes in order to retain your audience’s attention.

This is the truth: the bulk of the iceberg (the character of an individual; where one gets their drive to continue against all odds) lies below the surface.  In fact, only 10% of the iceberg peaks its head above the water.  That’s what we see.  When it comes to advice, seminars and the like, it’s the 10% that is often sold to us.  Even we do the 10% we think we’ll succeed in whatever endeavour being pitched.

But the 90% – the unglamorous, hidden, developed-in-the-crucible, no fun, grunt work, fail-and-try-again, failed-yet-again, late-nights, tears, trials-and-tribulations – lies quietly below.  That’s the part that is rarely replicated.  That no one actually wants to replicate in their lives.  It might not even be possible to replicate as it involves motives and desires (for example, I highly doubt that me fasting for 40 days will generate the same anointing it did in our Lord).

We might all like the last chapter of Job where God rewards him double for all his losses.  But who wants to go through the losses?

Joseph spent 22 years separated from his family.  13 of those years were spent in a combination of slavery and a dank, inhospitable Egyptian prison.

Moses spent 40 years on the back-side of the desert herding sheep.  David, 14 years running for his life.

Our Lord spent 40 days in fasting and prayer.  The King of All was described as a “man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.”

We all love quoting the apostle Paul often as though we can speak from the same standpoint.  But here was the crucible in which his faith was made:

Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything. – 2 Corinthians 6:4-10

The intangible essence resides well below the surface.  It cannot be copied or mimicked; there are no quick fixes or 7 steps.  It is the essence that makes the man or woman.

So, read the books or attend the seminars.  There might be good stuff there to be sure.  What I would like to cultivate though is my character, develop within, draw closer to my Lord in the small things and have Him purge me from what keeps my heart from Him.  Books and seminars can help, no doubt, but there is a simplicity in living for God that I would not like to get away from.  I fear that the accumulation of knowledge, knowing “how-to” and the like can distract from the slow and steady character growth necessary for spiritual stability and a real, fruitful relationship with God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Remember, hundreds of years ago, men and women did not have all the resources we have at our disposal yet they were not in poverty, from a spiritual perspective.  I would never encourage not reading or further growing in knowledge, but it’s always good to acknowledge and embrace the fact that it is below the surface, and in the spirit, where the work is really done – and where the world (including the religious world) rarely focuses.

Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. - Psalm 51:6

“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”

- Theodore Roosevelt

One of the biggest temptations is to try and fit in with our surroundings so as to make others feel comfortable and ourselves likable. I’ve been thinking about the 3 Hebrew boys and Daniel.

For good reason, their stories of courage and faith in God are beacons of light for every believer, from the Sunday schooler to the full-time preacher. I don’t want to talk about their well known stories today (ie: the fiery furnace or the lions’ den) but rather the more obscure aspects of their lives that enabled these stories in the first place.

First of all, these young men, along with others, were uprooted from their home in Jerusalem when Judah was overcome by King Nebuchadnezzar’s forces. Because they were royalty, the king didn’t waste them in regular slavery, but sought to exploit their resources for his benefit. They showed promise and therefore, more investment was to be made to groom them for the king’s service.

But these young men were unique. The key elements of their uniqueness (I identify three, but there are probably more), can be found in Daniel chapter 1.

Names: In his book, Slavery and social death, Orlando Patterson writes:

“There are several reasons for the change of name. The changing of a name is almost universally a symbolic act of stripping a person of his former identity. The slave’s former name died with his former self.”

In a sense, it is a type of psychological warfare and one of the first steps undertaken upon capture to re-engineer the captives thinking.

Daniel 1 says, “Among these were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah”. These are the original names of these young men (their ages aren’t specified). Most of us know Daniel (who was renamed Belteshazzar), but the others most people only know under their new names as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

But these young men, unlike the youth around us today, had a strong sense of who they were. Though the attempt to strip them of who they actually were was made, they understood that their true identity could never be touched. Their parents must have done a terrific job, but they also latched onto their beliefs for themselves, allowing their faith to be the lens through which they saw the world and made decisions – sometimes on pain of death.

Age: is it possible for a group of young men, banished from their homeland for life, never to see their parents again, and cut off from the prying eyes of religious zealots to possess a faith that is wholly their own?

With no one over his shoulder, the scripture says, “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.” What conviction. What strength. God honours steadfastness and courage for the right things. In this case, the Lord blessed Daniel and his friends with robust health.

Conviction is a lacking ingredient in most today, or we have conviction for the wrong things (straining at gnats while swallowing camels). In fact, most young people covet the days when they will be “free” to launch out on their own, chart their own paths and direct their own steps.

Learning: why is it that Christian youth seem to fall apart during their teen and university years? Does this automatically have to be the case? Confronted with ‘new’ knowledge that challenges ‘old-fashioned’ beliefs, many abandon their faith altogether during these years. At best, they seem to become lukewarm (not in all cases, but the vast majority). But look at Daniel and his friends:

“To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning.”

They no longer had Torah lessons, no religious services, couldn’t make their way to the temple in Jerusalem or consult with elders. On top of that they were being introduced to all sorts of learning, pagan customs and literature that would ordinarily serve to compete with or undermine their religion, their laws and the concept of a single, supreme God. But, as we see in later chapters, they maintained their belief in God. And it was not an academic faith, but a living, breathing relationship with their God.

I find it amazing that this level of integrity and faith was maintained in young people with every odd stacked against them. We could also point to the wisdom implemented when dealing with ungodly authority and other aspects of their character. But it was their underlying faith and integrity that enabled the stories we read about later in the book of Daniel.

May God grant this measure of faith to those of us today who live in “Babylon”, and are surrounded by modern-day idols and pressures. May our faith be our own, not simply the heritage of our parents. May we stand with conviction for the right things, at whatever cost, for the glory of our Lord.

It is not impossible, but neither is it easy. With God helping us, we can “become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe” (Phil 2:15).

“In order for your faith to grow, it must be tried.” – Desmond Singh (9.2.2009)

A beautiful, frightful and simple thought all in one. For the Christian, so much of life is spent desiring greater faith and yet doing all we can to avoid the discomfort of our faith being tried. But God is faithful.

I Peter 4

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.