Daniel 3:14-20, 24-28; Prayer of Azariah, 29-34; John 8:31-42
You can read the story in Daniel, or you can go to YouTube for a song that tells the story:
The three officials refuse to bow down to an idol. They are willing to face the consequences. You might think of them as models of civil disobedience. But they aren’t trying to prove a point. They’re just being faithful.
We are all faced with idols. They are rarely as obvious as the idol in this story. The powers have gotten sneakier. Now they don’t say, “This is an idol; bow down!” Now they say, “That’s just how it is.” If you want to keep your job, you’ll work when they tell you. If your kids want to get into a good school, they’d better be on a sports team even if it means missing church. If you want . . . it seems like that’s the key. Me and my wants. Me and my fears.
I’ve had idols in my life, though I didn’t know it. An idol is something that takes the place of God in my life, that distorts my supreme concern, and so distorts me. I’ve made an idol of alcohol, of food, of success. I can make an idol of God, so that I don’t see that I’m really worshipping an image I made rather than the living God.
Once we begin to see that what we’re worshipping is an idol, we’re halfway home. The idol wants me to believe that it is non-negotiable and inevitable. Once I see that it’s not, I’m faced with my fears and wants, and I’m faced with choice.
Facing that can feel like entering the furnace. Giving up my idols has always been terrifying. But when I do, I find that angel walking in the furnace with me. Somehow I survive, even thrive, and my experience gives others some hope that they too might survive. I can’t get there, though, without staring that idol in the face and refusing to bow down.
What are your idols? What do you bow down to? Pray to God to let you see Her face beside you in the fire.
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