Resolved and Respectful

"But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine and asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself in this way." (Dan. 1:8)

I am getting barraged with questions about when the church will be opened up again and hearing both sides of the argument about government overreach. I have seen a number of Christians turn to Acts 4 and 5 where the mantra "obey God rather than men" is used in support of reopening or just getting back to life. 

Neither of those passages can be used to support the times that we are living in at present. Acts chapters 4 and 5 are speaking to a religious/civil authority telling the disciples that they cannot speak or teach in the Name of Jesus again - essentially trying to stomp out Christianity before it ran rampant. That is far from the case in our situation. I prefer to go to the example that Daniel gives to us: Resolved and Respectful. 

Daniel was asked to do something that violated his moral conscience (eating and drinking forbidden food and drink, or food and drink that he had made a vow to abstain from). He resolved, he decided before hand, that he would not compromise when it came to his spiritual purity before God. How did he proceed in this foreign culture with differing expectations? He respectfully negotiated. 

The official over Daniel was concerned for his own safety and well-being. He didn't want those in his care to look weak and sickly and suffer the consequences of that personally. Fear was driving the decision. Daniel respectfully offered a test. Give us vegetables and water for ten days. If we aren't meeting your standard, well...we'll do it your way. The outcome was in Daniel's favor as he was favored by God. 

There is so much information, disinformation, changing information, and down right deception coming from government officials and the science community, that a person doesn't know really what to do or believe. God has put governing authorities over us and we need to respect that authority but we can also respectfully disagree and offer other solutions that will keep people alive and their livelihood in tact at the same time. 

There seems to be a number of inconsistencies about why some businesses get to open and others must stay closed at the risk of penalty if opened. What is essential and what is not. Common sense does not seem to be so common, especially when, in reality, we are dealing with two percent of the population dying. More people die of the regular flue, cancer, complications of diabetes, car crashes, etc...but this fact seems to be sidestepped in favor of panic and fear. I get a sense that there is some backside covering in this whole thing but I'm just an ignorant former farm boy. 

So what do we do? Be resolved to do what we can, within reason, to be above reproach in our reputations and in our desire to be what God has called us out to be. Be respectful when we disagree. God has brought us to this place for a divine reason. We haven't been forbidden to worship or name the Name of Jesus. In fact, the pandemic has caused a spiritual awakening via the internet. We have far more people visiting our site than we ever had before and that is likely to continue even after we are released for the month of July only to probably be sequestered again from August to next June (kidding...maybe). 

So we have to worship differently for a few months...we'll get through. And if this continues we'll find ways of gathering together in the parking lot or in the church sanctuary with six services of twenty-five people and a service at night and on Wednesday. We will figure it out. It's what humans do. It's what followers of Jesus do. 

However...if the king says you can't pray to anyone except the king...fling the window open, look to Jerusalem, pray your heart out, and know that the critics and the lions are waiting in the wings. Resolved and Respectfully yours. 

129 days to home