Crossroad

“And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace."

Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way." Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.”

Daniel 3:6, 28-30 

This is an act of idolatry, without question. It's also - for the Jews, that is - capitulating to the powers that be and giving up on certain values or principles, specifically the one that says, You shall have no other gods before me' and 'You shall not bow down to [carved images] or serve them.' For some, who already worship various idols and gods, it's just another day. There's nothing particularly abnormal about the situation.

But for Shadrach, Mishach, and Abednego? They've committed already to be faithful to the Lord their God. They stood up for their beliefs when they were being prepared for service in this new land - only certain foods, remember?

'But that was just food,' their friends might argue.

Still, it's the principle of the matter. How can they stand up for their faith when it involves food, a small thing, and not stand up when it's literal bowing down to a massive idol?

'Yeah, but this is your life! At least ol' Nebby feeds us and puts a roof over our heads and lets us practice our faith in private. And he's practically a Jew! Back with the dream thing, he said our God 'is God of gods and Lord of kings.' You're young and already so influential. You could convince him that the whole nation needs to be Jews. Just picture it: 'Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego - the men who converted Babylon!' We just have to get through this tough time, and then we'll get back to being faithful to God like before.'

At least that's how I imagine the argument from their friends going.

There probably wasn't much objection when it was a little thing like food. 'You do you, guys.' But when it comes to losing their lives, I can just hear the objections rolling in, even as everyone around them bowed down to the idol. They're trying to save their lives, to protect their rights, to survive in a pagan land - I get it - but they're selling their very soul to do it.

This lesson is very real in the world today. So many people, from so many different sides, are trying to convince us to give up our principles - or at least set them aside for a while. They're trying to play to our fears and insecurities. They're even convincing influential leaders of our same conviction and sending them to drag us over to their side. And the threat is real. It's not life or death, but it's a threat no less. In so many ways (especially with the way we as Americans can tend to idolize our freedoms and rights), it almost feels worse than death in a fiery furnace.

I read about current events, election news, rampant and blatant racism. I see this or that politician or leader offered up as a functional savior, as a demigod. And I understand that my people have come to a point of heart-wrenching crisis. We can no longer hide the fact that we gradually allowed a loyalty for God and country turn into an equivocation of the two. Our idols are under attack.

So we stand at a crossroad. Will we remain faithful to our convictions? Will we live out our faith, even if that means the great risk of being ostracized, or - heaven forbid - losing our precious freedoms? Are my rights valuable? Absolutely. But are they any more important than the ones Jesus gave up as the Son of God, an equal member of the Godhead, in order to take on human flesh and die on a Roman torture device for my sake? Not even close. Perhaps in America, Christians are finally getting a taste of what Christians in the rest of the world have already lived with for two thousand years, and what Jews have faced for even longer than that.

Not bowing down and paying homage, as Daniel's friends did here, is a risk. Faithfulness to God demands it. Being set apart as one holy unto the Lord can't be accomplished any other way. But it's a risk worth taking. It's a risk that has eternal rewards. It's a risk that may even show others the way to truly live (vs 28-30).

What's the 'golden statue' in your life? What tempts you most strongly to give up your values, or at least just set them aside for a little while? Maybe it's your rights and freedoms, as I mentioned before. Maybe it's something else. For me, often, it's the opinion and approval of others. It's a fear of conflict. I'd rather avoid the conflict and make everyone happy. I'd rather do what makes others proud of me and draws attention to my own good qualities. {I'd rather not write a long-ish piece about how Americans idolize freedoms and rights.} Some of my idols are self and approval and peace. While those aren't necessarily, in and of themselves, bad things, they still lead me away from being faithful to God and pursuing holiness before Him. They still lead me to bow down to a golden statue, often of my own making, rather than before the Holy God.

So what's your golden statue?

And what's it gonna take for you to melt it down and toss it in the dumpster out back of your idol-factory heart?