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Fire Power:
Are You Flame Worthy?
By Roger Pryor, Heartland Community Church
A person of true conviction buys into the absolute
truth of God and then does the right thing -- no matter the
circumstances. That process is often hard to do. But if you don’t,
you become as the Bible says, a double-minded, unstable person,
wavering between your opinion and God’s.
Bottom line: Right convictions lead to a
well-lived life. It may be a hard, challenging life, but it will
be one that God smiles on and blesses. That’s the case for several
Old Testament characters who found life to be hard, even death
defying. But in the end, they were found worthy before God. As a
result, God blessed them with a life well lived.
During my junior high school years, back in the dark
ages, we were required to take health class. I think the sole
purpose of the class was to scare us to death about the evils of
smoking, drinking, and doing drugs. We were indoctrinated through
filmstrips and guest speakers. There were drunk driving scenes,
massive car wrecks with body parts everywhere, and people high on
drugs acting weird. There were x-rays of cancer-ridden lungs. If
that weren’t enough, they’d pull at your heartstrings by showing
parents standing over a mangled body or coffin.
I must admit health class had an impact on my friends
and me. We became convinced that under no circumstances would we
drink or drive, smoke, or take drugs. Unfortunately, something
changed when we got to high school. Many of my friends started
experimenting with all the things we were convinced we wouldn’t do.
There was the Friday morning drinking club and the crowd that smoked
in the school restrooms or across the street on Emerson in Dallas.
What went wrong between junior and senior high
school? We went from being convinced certain things were deadly to
actually doing those things. Somehow, our behavior didn’t reflect
what we believed.
It’s the same today. Some of us are involved in
things that a year or two ago we would never have dreamed of doing.
Here’s what has happened. We have preferences, but few
convictions. We exchanged our convictions for preferences.
We are exposed to what is right and wrong. We’re
taught about all the predictable consequences of our actions. But
over time, we become people of preference with a leaning, bias or
inclination to do what’s right; but never a people of conviction who
live God’s truth without compromise. We rationalize the truth. We
waffle on the truth. We explain away the truth, rather than live the
truth.
Let’s look at three flame-worthy people, plus one
bonus character, who faced the pressure of compromise, but lived out
their convictions instead.
Before we meet these individuals, let me give you
some historical background. In 605 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar, king of
Babylon, conquered Jerusalem. As was his custom, he deported the
most intelligent, wisest, and most skilled men back to Babylon as
slaves where he would train, indoctrinate, and elevate them into top
positions in his administration. So whenever he needed advice, he’d
call on his elite team of advisors.
Four of the men captured in Jerusalem were Daniel,
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Maybe you’ve heard of Daniel. The
Bible tells us that Daniel was forced to make a decision about
drinking and eating the king’s wine and meat offered to idols. In
Daniel’s mind, this was an area of conviction, not just a
preference. So he chose not to compromise, but to stand by his
convictions; even though he knew his act of disobedience could cost
him his life.
Daniel 1:8 says, “But
Daniel made up his mind not to defile himself by eating the food and
wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief official for
permission to eat other things instead.”
Daniel had made up his mind. He determined that
regardless of the consequences, he would not compromise his beliefs
or convictions. Have you made your mind up about certain
moral, spiritual or ethical boundaries that you won’t cross or
violate--that no matter the consequences you will not compromise?
One of
my favorite authors on leadership is Andy Stanley. Commenting on
this story of Daniel, Stanley describes the byproducts of a life of
conviction:
God is not out
looking for influential people he can make faithful. God is looking
for faithful men and women whom he can elevate to positions of
influence. Do you see the difference? We're tempted to think God's
looking for athletes, rock stars, television stars, and wealthy
people to make into Christians so he can have influential people of
faith. But this [story] teaches us the opposite.
As God looked down
at those Hebrew captives, he was looking for the man who would say,
"Here I stand. I have made up my mind." God took Daniel, a man who
exhibited faith, conscience, and consistency and raised him to a
level of influence.”
God is on the hunt for people of conviction who He
can elevate and use in powerful, influential ways.
Well a
day came when King Nebuchadnezzar’s power and influence went to his
head, and he demanded that everyone worship him as the supreme
authority in their life. Daniel 3:1-6 says,
King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue 90 feet tall
and nine feet wide and set it up on the plain of Dura in the
province of Babylon….A herald shouted out, "People of all races and
nations and languages, listen to the king's command! When you hear
the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other
instruments, bow to the ground to worship King Nebuchadnezzar's gold
statue. Anyone who refuses to obey will immediately be thrown into a
blazing furnace."
So
when the music played for the first time, everybody fell to their
knees except Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They literally stood by
their convictions only to worship the one true God. Bowing down to
the statue was an issue of compromise.
We all
have our personal statues or idols that we ascribe worth to—such as
sports, sex, entertainment, and things. We either bow or not. We
either cave into our convictions and compromise or we stand—tethered
to God’s truth. It’s a choice we must make.
When
Nebuchadnezzar heard the news, he went ballistic. The three men
responded in Daniel 3:16-18,
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do
not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the
blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will
rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn't,
Your Majesty can be sure that we will never serve your gods or
worship the gold statue you have set up."
Nebuchadnezzar was
so upset he had the furnace stoked seven times hotter than usual,
and had the three men thrown into the roaring fire. What occurs next
is amazing. Daniel 3:25-28 says, "Look!"
Nebuchadnezzar shouted. "I see four men, unbound, walking around in
the fire. They aren't even hurt by the flames! And the fourth looks
like a divine being.
Then Nebuchadnezzar
said, "Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent
his angel to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defied the
king's command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship
any god except their own God.
These
were men of conviction, not preference. They were flame worthy! They
weighed the outcome of their decision and realized eternally
speaking they had far more to lose with God by compromising than
they had to gain by being disobedient. Here’s why: God chooses to
use and bless people of conviction, not people of power and
influence. These four men didn’t want to miss out on what God had
planned for them by compromising their convictions. They got far
more from God than they ever would have from Nebuchadnezzar.
There
were thousands of people deported from Israel into Babylon, but we
only know a handful of names. That’s because most chose to bow down
to the idol and not stand by their convictions. Consequently, God
overlooked them and instead chose men who stood by their
convictions. God looks for people of conviction who stand on His
truth, not people of influence or preference. The others, He chooses
to overlook.
Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had no idea what
impact there might be for living their convictions. They didn’t know
the rest of their story. All they knew was they had to make a
decision—live their convictions or compromise. Either choice would
lead to unknown consequences. In the end, God elevated these men to
high positions and blessing, and in return God received tremendous
honor and praise—even from Nebuchadnezzar.
None
of us know how God wants to use us. But it is clear that when we
become people of compromise, we short-circuit everything God has
planned for us to do. Sadly, we’ll never know what we’ve missed
because God will overlook us and accomplish his plan through someone
who has true convictions. The costs are unknowingly high!
Here
are three areas in which I believe you and I need to develop
convictions—areas where we need to make up our minds about, like
Daniel did. Obviously, there are more, but here is a start:
1.
Moral Purity
Consider the impure junk we pour into our minds? Those of us who
are Christ followers know Bible verses like Colossians 3:2, Let
heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here
on earth. Yet we pay people to fill our minds with moral
garbage. Why? We would rather live our preferences than our
convictions about the shows and movies we watch or the music we
listen to. We haven’t made up our minds like Daniel. We haven’t
calculated the cost we may unknowingly lose with God.
2.
Spiritual Growth
When
it comes to growing or maturing in our relationship with God, many
Christ followers put growth in the category of preference, not
conviction. It’s a good thing to—pray, study and apply God’s truth
in the Bible, serve God, give financially to God, and share Jesus
with others. But many of us consider these things to be personal
preferences rather than convictions. No wonder our relationship
with God is anemic or stagnant. We all must come to understand that
we are losing more with God by compromising than we are by living
out a conviction to grow in our relationships with God.
3.
Ethics
In
politics and corporate America, it’s okay to lie to people, juggle
the bottom line, break the law, misrepresent a product, and not put
in a full day’s work, as long as you don’t get caught. Friends,
there cannot be ethics without convictions. One author said,
“Preference is oriented toward convenience. Conviction is oriented
toward sacrifice. The challenge is being willing to acknowledge that
what you lose by standing firm is far less than what you lose by
compromise.” God wants us to be men and women of conviction, not
compromise or preference.
God
calls on us to stand tall—to never bow down to the god of
compromise. He wants every one of us to be men and women of
conviction, not compromise. |
