The Daniel Dilemma: How to Stand Firm and Love Well in a Culture of Compromise

by Chris Hodges

Humility serves as the remedy for prideful self-centeredness. It reflects simplicity and sincerity, a willingness to sacrifice one’s ego.

Humility keeps our hearts tuned to God and not ourselves.

One question I hear a lot in response to this definition is, “But what about all the polygamy in the Bible? There were guys in the Bible who had multiple wives.” To which I respond, “Not everything the Bible reports the Bible approves.” In other words, not everything reported in the Bible is affirmed in the Bible by God.

If you consider that we call it the Holy Bible, it’s actually amazing. Why? Because you won’t find a book that’s got more violence, more incest, rape, molestation, murder, jealousy, and greed.

So why do we call it the Holy Bible then? Because this book tells the truth.

Every test, every trial, every heartache that’s been significant, I can turn it over and see how God has turned it into good no matter what. —CHARLES STANLEY

You see, the problems we face in this life are not circumstantial or random—they are opportunities to grow stronger in our faith. God allows these tests to prove our mettle and mature us for future purposes. Understanding the nature of these tests (whether they last only a few weeks or an entire lifetime) and how to respond to them can make all the difference in the world. Knowing our identity is critical. Settling our core convictions is too. But, unfailingly, at some point, we will all be tested.

Convictions are all about the choices we make before we’re challenged. Faith is our ability to act on our convictions when tested.

When we’re walking in the purposes God has for us, we go directly against the will and the plans of the Enemy. So, naturally, the Enemy wants to block our paths and convince us to give up, to take a permanent detour. Ultimately, he wants us to serve him.

Whenever our faith is tested, we must choose whom we will serve.

When culture shifts, you will be tested. But never give in to the pressure. Because it will make you stronger.

And life is full of tests. Everything great is learned and earned through pain.

How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” (Isa. 30:19–21)

The way we handle adversity and affliction is key to a successful Christian life.

God tests us to refine us—not to punish us.

Many of us interpret resistance the wrong way. We can often view tests as nothing more than an attack of the Devil—but that’s not the case. The Enemy may try to attack us while we’re in the middle of a test, hoping we’ll be weaker and more vulnerable; but the kind of tests we’re talking about here are chances to grow, be promoted, and graduate to the next level. They’re not obstacles to be despised but instead are opportunities for advancement. In fact, they may mean you’re closer than ever to doing exactly what God has called you to do. Paul wrote, “I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me” (Acts 20:23).

Embrace that conflict with the courage of the Lord.

Courage is the condition of your heart that allows you to believe you’ll succeed without knowing how you’ll succeed.

Notice the way core and courage both come from this word for the heart. This makes sense because our hearts are the battleground between our trials and our convictions. They square off in a showdown to determine what remains and stays true in our hearts. When culture challenges our convictions, we must exercise courage—a deep-seated strength of heart—and resist the temptation to conform or compromise. Courage fuels our ability to carry out our convictions.

Where does our courage to stand strong in the face of cultural change come from? The same place where Daniel’s, Abraham’s, and Paul’s came from: the presence of God and the Word of God.

I’m convinced the secret to finding encouragement relies on our response—not our reaction. When something hard happens, it’s tempting to react—to express our anger, fear, confusion, and frustration with no filter. We may lash out at others, blame ourselves, experience extreme anxiety, or sink into depression. But we have to do more than simply express our feelings; we must direct them to God and surrender ourselves to time alone in worship. In that time, we each must ask ourselves, “Am I responding or reacting?”

The more time you spend with Jesus, the less time you’re going to spend being intimidated by the opinions of others or worrying about your problems.

Worship is your lifeblood. It will produce courage to fuel your faith when you’re being tested.

Culture wants to claim you—but you don’t have to let it. You have all you need to pass any test you face. You have the courage of the Lord.

A person will worship something, have no doubt about that. We may think our tribute is paid in secret in the dark recesses of our hearts, but it will out. That which dominates our imaginations and our thoughts will determine our lives, and our character. Therefore, it behooves us to be careful what we worship, for what we are worshiping we are becoming. —RALPH WALDO EMERSON

Worship centers on the answer to a series of questions we all face: What matters most to me? Whom do I care about most? Who or what gets my devoted allegiance and loyalty? What’s my top priority? Where does all my time, energy, and money go? When we answer these questions honestly, we get a pretty accurate picture of where we stand with God.

We are made to worship, and if we’re not worshipping our Creator, then we’re trying to put something else in his rightful place.

Our culture bombards us every day with alluring idols of power, money, sex, and fame, each one asking us to bow before it. If we’re not anchored in Christ, if we haven’t drawn our line in the sand that we refuse to cross, then our hearts can easily become seduced by cultural gods and then cave to temptation.

Wanting to be worshipped himself, our Enemy never forgets that people are designed for worship.

Music has incredible power to influence our moods and penetrate our thinking. Why do almost all movies have a soundtrack? To intensify the feeling we’re supposed to experience while watching the film.

Maybe this is too extreme for you, and you’re thinking, Come on, Chris—it’s just some innocent fun. Yes, there’s bad stuff in the mix, but all rock music isn’t bad. You may be right, but taking this stand has really helped me practice what I believe, and it has helped me create a barrier between my ears and popular culture. Why don’t you try only listening to worship music this week and see what it does for your heart?

In this case, let’s turn to the three angels named in the Bible as ruling angels or “archangels.” Each one represents a component of worship.

Every full encounter with God includes these same three components: prayer, the Word, and worship.

I believe these three archangels each ruled over a third of heaven as delegated by God. We know that when Lucifer fell, a third of the heavenly host of angels went with him (Rev. 12). His fall offers us insight into the attitude of humble surrender that must be present in a true worshipper’s heart.

Lucifer wanted to take God’s place as the deity, the Most High, worthy of worship from all creation.

As the “guardian cherub” (Ezek. 28:14), Lucifer was anointed to lead with music. Through his “widespread trade” (Ezek. 28:16), he tried to exchange his role as worship leader with that of being the center of attention, the focus of worship.

If Lucifer is no longer in charge of worship in God’s kingdom, then who is his replacement? We are! Christians are the Devil’s replacement in this role of worship leader—yet another reason why he hates you and me so much. He lost his job to us.

God created us with the same three types of musical sound—strings (vocal cords), percussion (clapping), and wind (singing)—so we can be living instruments of worship.

The Christian life can be distilled down to our daily struggle over what and how to worship. Open yourself up to what God might be trying to say to you about this. What is the Holy Spirit whispering to your heart?

Worship is our response to what we value most.

Everybody has an altar. We may not have it set up in our homes like a pagan shrine, but what we value most in life will always have the place of greatest prominence.

We are the only part of creation that does this—that offers up our worship. Why? Because we are created in God’s image, created to bring pleasure and glory to the One who made us.

But you’ll never be satisfied, empowered for your purpose, or fulfilled in life as long as you worship anything other than God.

Throughout the Bible three false gods are mentioned repeatedly. There’s the spirit of mammon, the god of possessions and greed. His worshippers’ motto could have been “never enough.” The same mind-set manifests itself today in the way many people pursue riches, assuming this will make them happy. Mammon always tries to squeeze into our hearts in place of God (Matt. 6:4). It’s okay to have money—as long as money doesn’t have you. The next is Baal, a god of power and the root of all pride (Judg. 2:11, 10:10; 1 Kings 18:18; Jer. 2:23; Hos. 2:17). He’s all about self-achievement and self-sufficiency. Remember those crazy fun-house mirrors (or now the apps) that make you look like a circus strongman? Baal basically reflects this kind of image back at his worshippers, saying, “You don’t need God! You’re strong enough to control it all yourself.” We see this same attitude today in the way we assume we can control our lives if we stay busy. It’s the driving force behind workaholism and our out-of-control schedules. We drive too fast because we feel like we’re perpetually late and must catch up any way we can. We eat in our cars while returning calls and scanning e-mails and texts. At work we’re thinking we need to be at home, and at home we’re thinking we need to be at work. So many of us spend minutes a day with our children and spouses, even less time with God, and work nine or ten hour days, which illustrates the spirit of Baal is alive and well in the twenty-first century! Fin...

These false gods—power, money, and sex—have been warring against our relationship with the living God from the beginning.

Appealing to Jesus’ hunger after his fast, the Devil attempts an appetite-fueled temptation to “turn stones into bread” (Asherah), followed by the encouragement to show off his power and “throw yourself down” (Baal), and finally the promise of “all this I will give you” (Mammon).

We face this battle right now, today, over who gets our worship. Like Daniel and his friends, we are pressured to bow down on a daily basis. We must take a stand and be willing to say, “I am not going to bow to Hollywood’s images. I will not support my government’s demands to compromise my faith. I will not yield to my fleshly desires to make myself and my pleasure the center of my life.” Today we will worship the living God, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Today we see our line in the sand. And we will not cross it.

If we ever forget that we are one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under. —RONALD REAGAN

So, feeling desperate for God, I did the only thing I knew to do: I turned on some praise and worship music. That probably sounds strange. Worship and grief don’t usually go hand in hand. But I’d learned to practice worshipping God no matter what circumstances I faced, and that day wouldn’t be any different. God promises us peace that surpasses all understanding in Philippians 4:7. But don’t miss the instruction attached to this blessing. Philippians 4:4 is the key that unlocks this peace: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” Worship didn’t erase my grief in the moment, but it definitely turned up an overriding peace. A peace I couldn’t have found any other way.

With God, we’re always in a win-win situation. No matter what’s at risk or what we lose—even the most precious people in our lives—God’s goodness will sustain us.