Daniel and the Ministry of 10X Excellenceናሙና

Yesterday, we saw how Daniel respectfully declined to obey his employer’s command to eat defiled food from King Nebuchadnezzar’s table, since doing so would have violated his ultimate allegiance to God’s commands. 

Today’s passage from Daniel 1 shares the rest of the story, with Daniel proposing an alternative solution and God graciously producing extraordinary results. Verse 20 says that the king found Daniel and his God-fearing friends “10 times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.”

This is the first time we hear of Daniel setting himself apart at work, but it’s certainly not the last. In Daniel 5:14, King Belshazzar says that Daniel was known for his “enlightenment, understanding, and excellent wisdom.” Daniel 6:3 tells us that “Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.”

In short, Daniel was exceptional at his job. He was 10 times better than his colleagues. And because of that, he (and more importantly, his God) stood out to the unbelievers in the palace where he worked.

Google is famous for encouraging their employees to adopt “10X thinking.” The idea is that, unlike traditional corporations that think in terms of making a product 10 percent better, Googlers are expected to make their products 10 times better as that is how to stand out in the marketplace.

It’s also how we and the God we serve stand out at work. 

We shouldn’t aim to be 10 percent better than our colleagues or competitors. We should aim to be like Daniel—10 times better. Not so we can pridefully say we’re the best. And not primarily to land a promotion or bigger valuation. We should strive to model Daniel’s example because the ministry of 10X excellence makes us winsome to unbelievers, serves employers and customers well, and brings glory to our great God who must be credited for our inexplicable results.