Gashugi Yves 
jm_100_OT_-P15.tiff
On October 25, 2025, I, together with a team mostly composed of medical doctors, visited a well-known pastor recognized for his work in healing hearts and supporting families. As we concluded our conversation, during which he drew lessons from the Book of Daniel, he said something that deeply struck me: “Daniel understood the time to eat and the time not to eat; that’s why he became the third ruler in the Kingdom of Babylon. Therefore, when you eat at a time you are not supposed to eat, you will dream dreams you cannot interpret.”
Let’s unpack that statement more deeply.
Nebuchadnezzar, the Wise Conqueror
When Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judah, he plundered both people and property. Yet, interestingly, he did not take the elderly or the weak. Instead, he selected the young, particularly those from noble families, who were good-looking, intelligent, and capable of learning.
Upon bringing them to Babylon, he offered them what we might today call a scholarship to study general sciences, languages, literature, and the wisdom of the Chaldeans. This is documented in books such as Against the Flow: The Inspiration of Daniel in an Age of Relativism by John C. Lennox, and Babylon: Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization by Paul Kriwaczek.
What Nebuchadnezzar did shows how strategic and forward-thinking he was. Instead of enslaving the elders, he invested in the youth, especially the gifted ones. He didn’t assign them to hard labor as was typical for captives; rather, he educated them to become assets to his kingdom in matters of wisdom and knowledge.
This teaches a powerful lesson to us in the Church: We must learn to nurture and raise the gifts and talents within our congregations so that they may become fruitful in the future. Unfortunately, some pastors fear training and empowering emerging leaders because they worry that those leaders might one day surpass them.
Yet a true and noble mentor rejoices when their mentee grows in knowledge, perhaps even surpassing their teacher, and leaves open doors for them to learn more than the mentor ever did.
He Knew the Time Not to Eat
When I first joined the university, I discovered that there were many restaurants with prices varying according to one’s financial ability. For those familiar with Huye, there was a restaurant I loved called FOX (those who lived there surely remember it!).
Even though I loved it, I couldn’t afford to eat there. On several occasions, when my friend went to eat at that restaurant, he would take me along, and I felt so delighted that I thought I should skip my fasting prayers just to be in such a restaurant!
But for Daniel, it was different. I imagine he had been assigned to dine in a restaurant that would surpass even some of the five-star hotels in Rwanda today. Yet, after receiving a divine revelation that he was not to defile himself with that food, he resolved in his heart to look toward God rather than toward the king’s table (Daniel 1:8).
Let me pause here for now. We’ll continue in Part Two.
