Daniel and My Lost Accent

This summer I had the chance to travel back to my hometown in Massachusetts to visit family. That's where I grew up, just north of Boston, and even though I've now called North Texas home for over 30 years, Massachusetts will always hold a special place in my heart. I lived there until I graduated high school, when I set off for higher education that carried me through several states before I finally landed here in Texoma.

Growing up in New England, I had the classic accent to prove it — no "R" was safe from getting dropped at the end of a word. If you've ever heard President Kennedy speak, you've heard me. Pure Boston, through and through. But somewhere along the way that accent faded, and now when I visit home, my sisters tease me about picking up a Texas drawl. Funny how things change.

Here's my point: over time, we're all shaped by our surroundings, for better or worse. In the case of my accent, there's no moral weight to it either way. But as believers living in a world that often doesn't share our ethics or worldview, it's worth remembering that we too can be shaped — sometimes without even noticing — by the culture around us.

It's the age-old tension of living in two worlds. We are citizens of heaven, yet we live in the kingdom of this world, and the values of those two kingdoms frequently collide, leaving us caught in the middle. As Christians, we need to recognize this tension and take deliberate steps to guard against being pulled into ungodly patterns.

We're hardly the first to wrestle with this. It's been the reality for believers throughout history, and it will remain so until the Lord returns. That's exactly why having a proactive strategy matters if we want to be salt and light in this world.

We find a powerful model for navigating this tension in the Old Testament prophet Daniel. Like us, he lived caught between two worlds — a citizen of heaven exiled in the ungodly kingdom of Babylon. The book that carries his name is essential reading for anyone who wants to prepare for this same challenge.

As his story unfolds, three strategies emerge — strategies that helped him hold this balance with remarkable steadiness.

First, Daniel drew clear lines he refused to cross. Scripture describes it with a single word: resolved. He decided, ahead of time, that he would not let himself be fully swallowed up by Babylonian culture. We need that same kind of intentional resolve — deciding in advance what we won't do, where we won't go, what we won't watch. Without that groundwork, we become easy targets for the prince of this world.

Second, Daniel prayed. He built spiritual disciplines into his life that kept him rooted in his faith and connected to his Creator. That habit of prayer eventually landed him in serious trouble — lion's den trouble — yet even facing punishment, he prayed openly and without wavering.

Third, Daniel held onto a clear vision of the future. Much of the book centers on his gift for interpreting dreams and the visions God gave him about what was to come. Running through all of it is a single truth: God governs history, and His Kingdom will outlast every earthly kingdom, no matter how powerful they appear. That certainty shaped every choice Daniel made and protected him from being swept up by kingdoms destined to fall.

All of us are shaped by the world around us, and if we're not careful, we'll end up sounding and looking more like the world than like faithful followers of the eternal Kingdom.

Take a page from Daniel: resolve, pray, and keep sight of what's coming. Do that, and we won't just hold onto our identity as citizens of God's Kingdom — we'll become a brighter witness to everyone watching, pointing them toward what's truly real.