Whomever is watching, listening to the awful media reports these days concerning murder, terrorism, thievery, manipulation of the masses, etc., etc., may join with me in declaring what we really need is for everybody to begin, continue, and insist upon doing the right thing.
From the highest leaders of our nation to the lowest peons with whom we communicate and labor every day, it seems that it is difficult to say whom can be trusted and who will do the right thing.
No matter our position in life, the higher you climb in life, the more certain people will try to assert control over you. Their threats can sound real, and the consequences of ignoring them, intimidating. This is something that many in leadership would do well to remember.
In the Bible Book of Daniel 3 we see the story of characters called Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego; we see their commitment to God that landed them in a fiery furnace heated seven times over. But it also promoted them to a place of great blessing and influence. Their story teaches us that for something to be an authentic test of character, it must be a situation in which the outcome is not in your hands. You simply make the choice to do what is right before God and leave the consequences to Him. It’s a trial by fire, but it’s a fire of refinement, and on the other side of it you come out stronger.
These men made the decision to do the right thing with no concern for the consequence. They said “…be it know unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” No matter their leader’s ruling, they determined to continue doing the right thing.