A Purpose of Heart: How to Keep from Compromising

"But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself" (Daniel 1:8).

"When he [Barnabas] came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord" (Acts 11:23).

Daniel’s decision and Barnabas’ exhortation had one thing in common: a purpose of heart. Daniel made a single decision that affected every day of his next three years. He did this on principle. The principle was that “he would not defile himself.” He did not wait until breakfast to make the decision not to eat when there was food in front of him and he was hungry. Why? He would have compromised. Daniel “purposed in his heart” once to obey God for a long time. He did not know how he was going to carry out his purpose. He trusted that if he acted on principle, God would provide the means for him to live it out.

Barnabas exhorted the saints “that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord.” He did not tell them how to continue with the Lord. He assumed that if they had purposed in their hearts to do it, the Lord would uphold them.

There are practical ways to not defile yourself and practical ways to continue with the Lord, but they are of little value unless you have a purpose of heart first. If we let our decision wait until the event is upon us, we will almost surely compromise.

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