It’s no newsflash that when it comes to following Jesus we face some strong cultural headwinds.
But that’s not a new thing. It’s a new thing in America. But not for Jesus followers. For 2,000 years, cultural rejection and even persecution have been the norm, not the exception.
That’s not to minimize the challenges and increasing opposition that we face. They are real and troubling.
It’s discouraging to wake up in a new world where those responsible to train and protect our children think they’re doing so by banning the Bible while offering instruction about the nuances of sexual preferences before some of them are old enough to read and write.
It’s disappointing to live in a community where an attempt to expand the church parking lot brings out more NIMBY’s (Not-In-My-Backyard) than a liquor store or massage parlor.
But again, that’s not a new thing. We shouldn’t be surprised, confused, or ring our hands in despair. There’s no need to run and hide. God is still on his throne. The beauty of the Gospel is not only the forgiveness of our sins, it’s also the certainty of Jesus’s victory. Even when it looks like all is lost, it isn’t. The power of the resurrection turns Damnable Friday into Good Friday.
The Great Liar
Unfortunately, the greatest liar in the universe, our enemy Satan, has convinced many of us that when he wins a few battles, it’s a sure sign that he’s going to win the war.
He’s good at this lying thing (You have to be to convince 1/3 of the angels to join you in an attempted coup against God).
But the moment we start to believe his lie that few setbacks and bloody skirmishes means we’re about to lose the war, we tend to stop trusting God and start taking things into our own hands. And when we do, the first (and biggest) mistake we tend to make is to jettison God’s battle plan.
We start to think we need to fight fire with fire.
But spiritual battles aren’t won with fleshly strategies or weapons. They are won with spiritual weapons following God’s battle plan. And God’s ultimate goal is to win over his enemies, not to wipe them out.
Whenever we make the panicked decision to fight fire with fire by picking up the fleshly weapons of anger, hatred, and whatever else we think it takes to win, we become a lot like the homeowner who grabs a garden hose to put out a grease fire. It seems like a good plan. But all it ever does is spread the flames.
A Man Named Daniel
Perhaps the best example of what it looks like to use God’s win-them-over battle plan is found in the life of Daniel. He not only survived, he thrived and had a powerful godly impact in the most godless and difficult of environments.
Take some time to read through Daniel this week looking at his life through the lens of persuasion. You’ll discover that his words, decisions, and actions were much different than most of us would expect from a godly man in a godless environment.
Here’s what you’ll find that is too often missing today, while looking at the Book of Daniel.
#1: His Optimism
Daniel never forgot for a moment that God is sovereign. He’s in control of who is in control. He’s never up in heaven saying, “Oops, I didn’t see that one coming! ”
In fact, that’s the first thing Daniel points out in his autobiography. In the first two verses he makes it crystal clear that he understood from the beginning that it was God who delivered Jerusalem, some stolen articles from the temple, and Daniel himself to a wicked king named Nebuchadnezzar.
Go back and read it for yourself. You’ll be as surprised as I was. And you’ll have the context to understand the mindset that undergirded every decision and action Daniel took during his seventy plus years in Babylon.
#2: His Humility
Daniel treated his captors with incredible respect. Nebuchadnezzar was a wicked man. His royal court was filled with godless pagans who practiced the dark arts of astrology and the occult. Yet in every conversation with his captors you’ll find that Daniel and his friends were amazingly cordial, respectful, and humble.
Humility opens doors. Daniel served a godless king so well that he kept getting promoted. Eventually he reached a high enough level that he was able to bring the king to the point of acknowledging God as the God most high.
Today, many Christians seem to think that showing respect to sinful people is akin to selling out – or that humbly serving a godless boss or political leader from the wrong side of the aisle is a spiritual compromise unworthy of a committed Jesus follower.
But that’s hogwash. It’s an evangelism killer. And it’s based on the faulty goal of wiping out rather than winning over God’s enemies.
#3: His Wisdom
Finally, you’ll also notice that Daniel had the wisdom to understand the difference between what he didn’t like and what God forbade.
When we panic and discard God’s game plan and weapons, we tend to lose perspective. Everything becomes a big deal.
Despite the stench, Daniel held his nose and graduated number one in his class when forced to study astrology and the occult for three years. He didn’t flinch when they changed his name from God is my Judge to Baal’s (Babylon’s demon God) Prince. And as mentioned above, he served a demon-worshipping king so well he kept getting promoted.
I’m certain that he disdained all of these things. But none of them were forbidden by God.
However, when it came to the things that God explicitly forbade, Daniel and his friends drew the line. They humbly and politely refused to go along. They courageously accepted the consequences. The most notable being cast into a fiery furnace and fed to the lions.
The fact is, our mission remains the same no matter how strong the headwinds or tailwinds. The Great Commission remains our great assignment no matter what. Nothing has changed.
But if we are going to successfully pull it off in our increasingly spiritually hostile environment, we have to ditch the path of anger and despair that so many of us have taken. Instead, we have go back to following the battle plan that God shows us in the life of a man named Daniel. It’s the path of optimism, humility, and wisdom. It’s the path of victory and great influence. Even in Babylon.
For more on this subject, check out Larry’s book, THRIVING IN BABYLON