by Barbara Latta @barbaralatta
Compromise. It’s one enemy we all face at some point in our lives.
People break their word, fudge a little on taxes, don’t tell
the complete truth or go along with the latest craze, even if that craze is
destructive, because it’s the cool thing to do. And compromise can go further.
It can lead to crime and immorality and start a never-ending spiral of disintegration
in life.
How can we resist compromise in this world filled with peer pressure?
The book of Daniel in the Bible tells us about four men named Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah and the choices they faced that tested their faith in God.
These young Jewish men were captured by King
Nebuchadnezzar when he besieged Jerusalem. These males could have been teenagers
when they were taken from their home and families. Their parents may have even
been killed.
Nebuchadnezzar chose youths in whom was no defect, who
were good-looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with
understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had the ability in serving in
the king’s court (Daniel 1:4 NASB). This shows what the Spirit of God in
them produced.
The king wanted the best people to serve him. He was ruling
the entire known world at that time. He ordered the chief of his officials to
“teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans”. The goal was to get
the Hebrew culture out of them and indoctrinate these young men into the ways
of Babylon. They were given the Babylonian names of Belteshazzar, Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego.
We sometimes miss the cruelty of their situation. They were
robbed of what was familiar, given food to eat that was against their beliefs,
and they were made eunuchs. This means they were castrated. There was no hope
of them ever having marriage and a family. It would feel life was over.
How did these young Hebrews resist the influence of a powerful king when he commanded they worship an idol of himself?
They resolved in their hearts they would not sway from
their faith in the one true God at the beginning of their captivity. They refused
to eat food that was against Hebrew laws, but they did it respectfully (Daniel
1:8–9).
They displayed a spirit of excellence (because of God’s Spirit)
and that’s why they were promoted to high positions (Daniel 1:17).
They continued worship of God and refused to take part in
the culture around them. Their faith in God gave them wisdom and strengthened
them to stand against compromise (Daniel 2:20–23).
The world has not changed in its anti-god spirit since the
beginning of time. Satan’s uses doubt and unbelief and compromise to undermine
our faith.
We are faced today with social media, politics, entertainment,
advertising, and the opinions of other people. All these elements vie for our
attention and try to sway us to their way of thinking with the promise of
acceptance. If we don’t resolve in our hearts what we will stand for, we are
bait for the influence of the world that will draw us away from godly
decisions. And isn’t this the goal? To indoctrinate an anti-god system into
schools and government, the same way the Chaldeans were doing?
Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah weren’t
swayed from their beliefs. Daniel still prayed every day even when there was a
law against. The three were thrown into a fire, and later Daniel was thrown
into a den of lions.
God preserved them and showed His mighty power to King
Nebuchadnezzar. But they had decided that even if they were not saved from physical
death, they were still not going to worship a false god.
Our decisions are the same. Standing strong will bring
opposition and persecution. We may not always be rescued in the way we want,
but we know that God is still God and His mighty power will be shown.
These Hebrew men are examples to us today of how having an
excellent spirit that is free of compromise will keep us strong when we face
tribulation. Christians are persecuted all over the world because they refuse
to bow to the world and deny their faith. Many are killed. And this has come to
America. Just look at what recently happened to Charlie Kirk.
The only weapon any of us have against worldly
indoctrination is the Word of God. We can’t be strong without His food,
fellowshipping with Him, and hearing His instructions.
Please feel free to join the conversation and share your
thoughts.
Image by Andrew
Martin from Pixabay
No comments:
Post a Comment