Daniel (Greek) 3:1-6: a reflection

1Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits, and its width six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. 2Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the local governors, the deputies, and the governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. 3Then the local governors, the deputies, and the governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 4Then the herald cried aloud, “To you it is commanded, peoples, nations, and languages, 5that whenever you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music, you fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. 6Whoever doesn’t fall down and worship shall be cast into the middle of a burning fiery furnace the same hour.”

King Nebuchadnezzar sets up a great golden image and commands everyone, at the sound of the music, to fall down and worship it, on pain of being thrown into a fiery furnace. The pressure to conform is immense: everyone is commanded to bow, the crowd all bowing together, and the penalty for refusing is death. It is the setting for a great test: will anyone refuse to bow to what everyone else is bowing to, when refusing is so costly?

Notice the pressure to conform that this scene sets up: everyone bowing, the demand that all bow together, the severe penalty for standing out. When everyone around us bows to something, and refusing carries a cost, the pressure to go along, to bow with the crowd, is enormous. It takes great resolve to refuse to bow to what everyone else worships, especially when standing firm is costly. The scene is set for the test of whether loyalty to God will hold against the pressure to conform.

That pressure to conform, to bow to what the crowd bows to, is one we also face, though rarely so starkly. There are things the world around us bows to, values and idols and ways of thinking, that we are pressured to bow to as well; and refusing can be costly, bringing us disapproval, exclusion, or worse. The pressure to conform, to go along with the crowd, is real. When you are pressured to bow to what everyone around you bows to, whether an idol, a value, or a way of living contrary to God, do not simply go along because everyone else does. It takes resolve to stand firm when all around are bowing, and when refusing is costly; but loyalty to God may require it. Do not let the pressure to conform make you bow to what you should not; be willing, if God requires, to stand firm even when everyone else bows, and even when standing firm is costly, holding your loyalty to God against the pressure of the crowd.

Lord, King Nebuchadnezzar set up a golden image and commanded everyone to bow at the sound of the music or be thrown into a furnace; the pressure to conform was immense, everyone bowing together, the penalty for refusing severe. That pressure to bow to what the crowd bows to I also face, though rarely so starkly. There are things the world around me bows to, values and idols and ways of thinking, that I am pressured to bow to as well; and refusing can be costly, bringing me disapproval, exclusion, or worse. The pressure to conform, to go along with the crowd, is real. When I am pressured to bow to what everyone around me bows to, whether an idol, a value, or a way of living contrary to you, keep me from simply going along because everyone else does. It takes resolve to stand firm when all around are bowing, and when refusing is costly; but loyalty to you may require it. Keep the pressure to conform from making me bow to what I should not; make me willing, if you require, to stand firm even when everyone else bows, and even when standing firm is costly, holding my loyalty to you against the pressure of the crowd, Lord. Give me resolve to stand when I should not bow.