“They have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God!” (Daniel 3:28).
Karolina’s face turned red when she heard the blasphemous song her director had chosen for the choir. She knew that she could not sing it in good conscience. Her husband Kent, who also sang in the university choir, kept glancing at her wondering what they could say to the short-tempered director. The director was also Karolina’s professor and if she complained she might sour her relationship with him for the rest of her music degree program.
During the next rehearsal, Kent and Karolina tried burying their faces in the scores so that no one would see that they were not singing that particular song. This did not work well, because the director soon announced that the choir would memorize the piece and asked them to put their folders down. Soon the other members started to notice the quiet couple and began to comment.
By now the two realized they would have to confront the director. The next day they prayed, and Karolina went to his office to politely explain the reasons why they believed the song was an inappropriate gesture to God. The director replied in anger and tried to persuade her to sing the song anyway. When he saw that she would not change her mind, he finally gave in and removed the song from the program. Despite this incident of conflict, God sustained Karolina’s relationship with the director and they remained friends even after she graduated.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had much more to lose than the favour of a teacher. Yet they did not hesitate to disobey the king to avoid the blasphemous worship of a statue. One of the three could have said, “This statue is merely a golden representation of the king, and our bowing is just a way of showing respect.” Instead, they risked their lives and experienced the sustaining power and presence of God in the flames. When people honour God, He comes close to them in the middle of the crisis.
Dear Jesus, help me to honour You at any cost.
