If you’ve been a bible student for long, even as a child, you probably remember the story about how the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold (Daniel, chapter 3 – see a version of it here, painted by the 16th Century artist Pieter Aertsen) and ordered everyone to worship it, including the exiled Jews who were renamed with Babylonian names -- Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (their Jewish names were Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, respectively – see chapter 1, verse 6 of Daniel). They were companions of Daniel (his new Babylonian name was Belteshazzar), and one could say they had already chosen who they would worship – only the one true God. Nebuchadnezzar, through others who obviously wanted to see the Jews punished, learned of their noncompliance, and he tried to compel their obedience. Worship an idol, or face death in a fiery furnace. You know how it turned out, don’t you? The question for us today is this: Do we see any parallels currently, and what can we -- as citizens of God’s kingdom -- do while we live in this land called America?
This topic of idol worship has been mentioned many times in this blog, including the last entry made (on 12/27/2025), so it’s not really necessary to address it again…or is it? It is so fundamental, and that has to be why God made this issue the focal point of the 1st and 2nd commandments – He’s the only God; hence, idol worship is absolutely forbidden. Those two words that Daniel’s three friends had before them – CHOICE and COMPULSION -- are likewise before us today, as we how think of how we can respond to idol worship.
Consider the following two ways to think about choice and compulsion, and look at the links that are provided below. It’s about a leader trying to have his name attached to things in America’s public square, and that is key. These things are the public’s, and we pay for them via our taxes.
· Is an individual serving as president because he/she has made a worthy choice to serve as president, or is it more a part of someone’s compulsive nature for him/her to seek the limelight?
· Do American taxpayers really have a choice to object to a leader who desires to name publicly-financed objects after himself/herself? What could a taxpayer reasonably do – refuse to pay taxes, and thus go to jail? Does that not seem more like compulsion –fear of punishment – or choice?
You have a choice in a few weeks. Think about whether you – as a believer in the true God – want to have a choice or whether you’d prefer compulsion as a motivating force in your life, civically and spiritually. Are there people in public office who are enabling a leader whose agenda seems ego-driven? My Christian walk doesn’t bifurcate between what I do in secular life (like civics) versus what I do to promote my spiritual journey. How about yours? There is another leader who is quite compelling – in a good way -- and whose example compels my devotion…look up 2 Corinthians 5:14, if you don’t already know His identity.
https://www.military.com/bill-would-block-navy-from-replacing-doris-miller-name-carrier-for-trump
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/21/navy-carrier-black-war-hero-trump-report
https://www.npr.org/2026/09/15/nx-s1-5969905/kennedy-center-closing-trump-name
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pieter_Aertsen_019.jpg ….This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer….{{PD-1996}} – public domain in its source country on January 1, 1996 and in the United States.
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