Read: Daniel 3:1-18
We will not serve your gods. (v. 18)
One of the tools the US Secret Service uses to combat counterfeiting is a document entitled “Know Your Money.” It features detailed photos and descriptions not of counterfeits, but of genuine dollar bills. The best way to spot a fake is to know the original intimately.
It should come as no surprise that Nebuchadnezzar built a monument and demanded to be worshiped. This is what kings do. The surprise is that some of his subjects refused to do so—even when threatened with death. Why didn’t Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego bow the knee to save their lives? They recognized a fake when they saw it. They didn’t fear the false god because they knew the real one.
You and I are constantly confronted with “false gods”: earthly people, places, and things that demand a degree of devotion only God deserves. In fact, our world is so full of counterfeit gods that, no sooner do we recognize and eliminate one, we find another. How do we safeguard our hearts and minds from misguided devotion to false gods like prosperity, power, and politics? The only way is to know the original. In John 10:4, Jesus says of the good shepherd, “The sheep follow him, for they know his voice.” We can know Jesus intimately and personally by familiarizing ourselves with his word, welcoming his Spirit, and communing with his church. The temptations and threats of the world’s false gods cannot compete with the real thing.
As you pray, ask God to make himself known and draw you close.
About the Author
Ben Van Arragon is the Minister of Worship and Leadership at Plymouth Heights Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He preaches and teaches the Bible in church, online, and anywhere else he has the opportunity.
