I Will Not Bow
-Michelle Castle

We all face choices: choices of right or wrong, of listening to the crowd or doing what we know is right. When we want to gossip about people, crack a "dirty" joke, or use drugs, the crowd is with us, and we fit in. But take a stand against the crowd, and beware.

Standing up to pressure like that is tough, but it's nothing new. Years ago, there were three Jewish young men who had been captured in battle. Shadrach, Mesach, and Abindigo lived in a foreign land, with laws and customs different from their own. But one day, the king pushed too far when he ordered all the people to bow down and worship a golden image, threatening to throw all who refused into a fiery furnace. And everyone complied with the king's order - well, almost everyone. You see, those three Jewish young men refused to bow to the image, as it was against the law of their God. When the young men were brought before the king for their rebellion, he offered them another chance to conform to the crowd. But the young men refused yet again, saying that the God they served was able to deliver them from death in a fiery furnace. What's more, they were courageous enough to say that they would not bow to the image, even if God didn't deliver them! The king, of course, was furious, and had them thrown into the fire.

Chances are you've heard that story before. But wait! It's more than just a fairy tale, and it can help us in our struggles with peer pressure. Think of someone popular you look up to and try to please - that person is your king. The person or group that tries to get you to do something you know is wrong - that's the idol the king is commanding you to bow down to. If you refuse to be involved in the activity, you are likely to be mocked - that's your consequence, your fiery furnace.

So you have two choices: you can bow to the idol and do what you know is wrong, or you can refuse, and proudly stand. But you have to decide beforehand. You have to say "King, I will not bow down. If no consequences come, great. But even if they do, I will not do what is wrong."

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