I listen to sermons sometimes when my kids are watching whatever on the iPads. The daughter has been watching cop shows and the boy I have no idea. I need to learn how to use parental controls. Good luck with that. I’m more likely to lock myself out. As to cop shows, I have very mixed feelings on this. She has asked me about gun magazines, patrol differences, and Internal Affairs. I once asked her if she preferred having a different father and I’m pretty sure the answer trended to the negative. Too bad if it didn’t. We are destined to get our parents and also children. God has a very good sense of humor.

In any case, the daughter, showing she pays more attention than you think, remarked that she knew one of the stories alluded to in one such sermon – the one involving Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. I asked her how she knew that story and she replied from the VeggieTales animated series featuring devastatingly cute vegetables portraying Biblical characters.

A quick recap of that story. These three were buddies of Daniel – he of the lion’s den fame. Jewish by background, they serve in the Persian court where they have been exiled to. Long story short, they make a few enemies and end up being sentenced to death by furnace. They could have avoided all this by worshipping one idol or another other than the God they believed in. Well they don’t and defiantly tell the king and his entourage that God will save them and even if He doesn’t, they will never bow down.

Guts.

Well, God shows up in the form of an angel or equivalent, enters the furnace with them, and protects from the flames. Turnabout is fair play and their accusers are thrown into the furnace instead. They are quite well-done at the end of it all. King promotes Shadrach et al and decrees that all have to worship their God. Happy ending for most.

This story resonates because it demonstrates many good qualities in addition to courage, mainly faith and integrity.

There is something fully human and divine about refusing to bow to unjust authority. To not dance on the strings of others.

It is also painful and lonely.

The story is a nice one because there is a neat ending worthy of Hollywood and Disney but history has many examples that don’t have the same outcome.

Nonetheless, I do believe this sort of thing does happen. I also choose to focus on the other qualities mentioned.

In my experience, personal and through other avenues, a few standing up can empower and inspire others to do so. That’s really the history of the world in a nutshell.

Do not bow when it’s unwanted. You have no idea what it can do.