Activating Courage and Conviction in Today's Youth

The follow article is taken from an excerpt in my book "The Culture Crafters."

The Bible (Daniel 3) tells of a Babylonian King, Nebuchadnezzar, who once built an image of gold that was 90 feet high and 9 feet wide. He then made it law that whenever the music would begin, everyone in his kingdom would have to bow to this golden image. Shortly, after the decree went into effect, there were certain Chaldeans (Babylonians) who noticed that some of the Jewish young men who worked as government administrators were not bowing down to the golden image. Immediately these young men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were reported to the King (Daniel 3:12).

King Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought before him. Nebuchadnezzar then said to them “…is it true that you refuse to worship my god and to bow down to the gold statue I have set up?”
Before they could answer, the King reminded them of the consequences of their disobedience…they would be thrown into a blazing, fiery furnace. He then added, “Do you think there is any god that can save you?”

Even though the three young men had proven their loyalty to the King, they weren’t about to be intimidated or induced into worshipping an idol god. They replied, “If the God whom we serve is able to save us from the blazing furnace and from your power, then he will. But even if he doesn't, Your Majesty may be sure that we will not worship your god, and we will not bow down to the gold statue that you have set up."

Obviously, when Nebuchadnezzar heard their response, he lost it. The Good News Bible translation in Daniel 3:19 reads, he was so mad “…his face turned red with anger.” The only thing hotter than Nebuchadnezzar was the furnace that he had heated seven times hotter than normal. He then commanded the strongest soldiers in his army to take Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to throw them bound and fully dressed into the blaze of fire. The bible says the fire was so hot it burned to death the guards that threw them in.

The End, right? Wrong. What happened next horrified the King. He couldn’t believe his own eyes when he looked into the furnace. He said to his counselors, “Did we not throw three men bound into the middle of the fire?” The counselors agreed that it was three. “Behold!,” said Nebuchadnezzar, “I see four men loose, walking in the middle of the fire, and there is no harm among them. And the form of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”

Certainly, Nebuchadnezzar had never seen the Son of God before. But to him, the fourth person in the fire looked like a son of a supernatural god or angel. He then moved closer to the fiery furnace and called out to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, “…servants of the Most High God, come forth and come here.” The bible says the three Hebrew men came out from the middle of the fire unburned, with not even the scent of fire on them.

What was Nebuchadnezzar’s response? He had seen all he needed to see. He immediately sent out a new law throughout his kingdom. “…if anyone of any nation, race, or language speaks disrespectfully of the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, he is to be torn limb from limb, and his house is to be made a pile of ruins. There is no other god who can rescue like this."

To Bow or Not to Bow
Like Babylon’s Nebuchadnezzar, every culture has its image crafters. The devil operates through magnification and imagery. He deceives by magnifying things, ideas, or personalities to appear greater than what they really are. He has practiced this kind of deception from the very beginning when he said, “I will exalt my throne above the stars of God…above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:13-14). In John 8:44, Jesus calls Satan the father of all lies.

Kimberly Daniels in “Clean House – Strong House” says “Imagery is the production of mental images or sounds through erroneous perception arising from misrepresentation; closely related to hallucination, which is mental wondering…Imagery is only real if we receive it to be so. Jesus really has all power, and Satan has to operate with a counterfeit authority. The devil has been stripped of all power.”

Human beings since the beginning have created god-like images and desired that others would bow down to their image. Thankfully, in America we have never been forced by law to pay homage or give worship to other’s images. On the other hand, such laws are not needed when popular culture voluntarily bows before its adored icons.

Admittedly, the majority of the western church have neither discerned nor defied modern day image crafters. Instead, most Christians have blended in quite well, picking and choosing our battles carefully, usually dependent on whether or not it serves our best interests. In fact, for many contemporary Christians our rationale and response to the dilemma faced by the three Hebrew young men would probably be similar to the following:

Response A. "It depends on what you’re going through at the particular time you hear the music. If things are going well, you don’t bow. If the devil’s giving you a hard time and you decide to bow, don’t worry about it because God will forgive you and take you back any way."
Response B. "Whether or not we bow when the music is played depends on whom you are with at that given time. If it’s another Christian or a minister friend, then you bow as long as they bow. If you are in the company of an unbeliever, then it’s not necessary that you bow. You know, I don’t want to make a scene or make feel uncomfortable."
Response C. [a combination of A and B] "It depends on the situation or how I’m feeling. Sometimes, I bow and sometimes I don’t. It just depends!"

Yet, there’s a larger segment of the modern church today that doesn’t even think twice about not bowing. They have become used to the swearing, the sex, the violence, and the subtle or even obvious anti-Christian messages. It doesn’t bother them anymore. Sadly, they no longer “…preserve sound judgment and discernment…” as we are warned to do in Proverbs 3:21.

Unquestionably, the greatest challenge that faces the Western church today is teaching and training our children in how to engage popular culture without bowing to it’s images. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego met the challenge in spite of living in a pagan country. Is it possible for our children to do the same? Absolutely, but there are some basic Christian values practiced by these four Hebrew boys that must be modeled, taught, and accentuated by parents today. I will share these over the next few days. See ya back tomorrow!