But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up. Daniel‬ ‭3‬:‭18

In a world where it’s becoming increasingly dangerous to have an opinion, it’s easy to shy away from stating your beliefs.

I have to admit I’ve hesitated to take a stand on volatile social issues even though I have strong convictions regarding them. It’s easy to rationalize my lack of response as ‘trying to be graceful’ or ‘waiting until we were in private for a conversation’ or convincing myself I wasn’t qualified to respond because I may do more harm than good to God.

Imagine what it must have been like for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to refuse to bow to the king’s statue. They were in a foreign land. They were looked down on by many. They were refugees, aliens in a foreign land. And here they were refusing to follow the commands of the king. Three men of minority status standing when everyone else was kneeling.

Yet in the face of attack, in the face of death they refused to compromise their standards. They didn’t know if God would deliver them physically, but physical protection wasn’t as important to them as being true to God.

How strong is your faith? What are you willing to risk for God? The closer we get to Jesus’ return the more we will be called to stand confidently for what we know is true, even in the face of death.