Have You Been Tamed?

 

Daily Reading:  Daniel 3:8 – 12

As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance.

                                             I Peter 1:14

               As a man of God, we must recognize that the world is continuously seeking our compliance to their standard rather than God’s. When we refuse, hostilities will ensue. It will never be a question of if, but when. We will face envy, accusations, and persecution. All these tactics serve to break us down until we fall in line. There is a great price to pay for firm resolve!

               Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego faced the fires of envy, accusations, and persecution before they ultimately faced the fires of the furnace. The attack was triggered because they refused to bow to Nebuchadnezzar’s golden statue.  They had not made a scene and were not outspoken about their refusal. They simply refused to bow.  In a society where everyone submitted to the yoke of the world they stood out.  When the misstep was observed, the Chaldean’s resorted to accusations.  The Hebrew word translated accused in Daniel 3:8 is made up of two pictographs or symbols.  The first pictograph is a bent palm and represents the subduing of the will. The other symbol is a shepherd’s hook and signifies a yoke. Together, they imply, “tame for the yoke”.  What a snapshot of the way the world operates.  An unwavering goal of the world is to subdue all men until they are, “tame for the yoke.”

               To distance themselves further from men who had quite literally taken a stand, the accusers lavish praise at the feet of Nebuchadnezzar before reminding him of the exact wording of his decree by which all are bound.  We should never be surprised when the minions of the spirit of the age use the letter of the law to come after men who simply refuse to conform because they have chosen a higher standard. The universal standard of the world is comply or else.

               In our lives, we will face daily decisions where we must display firm resolve while the world seeks to subdue us.  In those moments of decision, we must remember that our strength and identity are found in Him alone and never in how the world sees us or defines us! We should also remember that the envy, accusations, and persecutions are a testament to the work of God in our lives.  We are no longer, “fashioning ourselves according to the former lusts” and the world has taken notice.