“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, [you] can be sure that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up” (Daniel 3:17-18, NLT).

Back in the day when people worshipped idols made of gold, there were 3 men—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—who refused to bow down to the king’s statue. These 3 were willing to stay true to what they believed, even when their lives were in jeopardy.

Now, here’s the question: Couldn’t they just say they were going to bow down to the idol, but in their minds think that they still worshipped God? It doesn’t matter if they bow down or not, as long as they know they still believe in the true God…right? Wouldn’t God know they still would rather worship Him?

In our discussion, most people believed that would be a problem. It would not work to go through the motion of bowing to another god, while thinking in their minds that they still believed in the true God. The group agreed that this would not be true faith in God.

Here’s where their example speaks to us today: How do we respond when our faith is challenged? Nobody makes us do something so foolish as to bow down in front of gold statues. But if we are honest with ourselves, we admit that there are everyday pressures to do foolish things that go against what we believe. And we could easily justify our actions by saying, “I still believe in God, and He knows that, so I can still do this.”

Think about this: Would you not want your friends to act the same way whether you are there or not? Nobody wants to hang out with someone they know is being nice to their face, but behind their backs is gossiping about them. We would realize that this person is no friend at all.

Yet this is what some people try to do to God. It is easy to act one way in church, and then another way when church is over.  We act friendly toward God when in His presence, but remain unaware of Him during the rest of the week. But God is looking for people who will be loyal to Him no matter what else is going on—just like our 3 heroes in our story. He wants us to be able to stand up, as they did, and do the right thing, even if we risk comfort, pleasure, or popularity.

One last thought: When those 3 took a stand, they were saved from the fire, and the king ended up believing in their God. When you stand up for Him, others will notice, and you may even be able to show some of them that God’s ways are worth following.

To consider for the week: Do I act the same in all settings, or do I act one way in church and another way outside the church?