Bow or Burn

Throughout Scripture the command for God’s people is to obey, respect, and pray for their government and leaders. The only exception to this command is when the government directly calls us to sin against God. At that point, the people of God have both the right and duty to disobey their government. The Chinese house church movement, evangelistic and church planting movements in Muslim countries, and the Civil Rights movement in America are a few examples of this disobedience. The first two in regards to not preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, the third in the government’s failure to see God’s given dignity to all of mankind. In Daniel 3, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego join in the ranks of God’s people stepping out in civil disobedience. They were Daniel’s friends who trusted and obeyed God even when it was very difficult to do so. King Nebuchadnezzar had built a giant golden statue and made everyone in the kingdom worship it whenever music played. These young men knew they couldn’t worship something that was not God, so they did not bow down. When Nebuchadnezzar heard they would not worship him he became angry and demanded they be thrown into a fiery furnace. But the three friends were not harmed by the fire at all. As King Nebuchadnezzar looked into the furnace he saw that the three friends were accompanied by a fourth man who was also unharmed. After this Nebuchadnezzar said their God was the only God who could save anyone. Through their pattern of humble, godly, and firm conviction, we see a way of life that honors the government and obeys God. These men were faithful in worshipping God all the way to the furnace. Today, we might find ourselves in situations where we are asked to worship someone or something besides God. In parts of the world it might even be illegal to worship God. However, obedience to God is more important that obedience to anything else. Jesus was obedient to God no matter what the rulers of his time said. He was obedient to God even when he was being nailed to a cross. Jesus was obedient because He knew all of us could not be.