Holding to moral or ethical convictions based on God’s Word can be a powerful silent witness to point others to God. An individual life of conviction cannot be ignored when it stands in sharp contrast to a world of humanistic relativism. It might be argued against, rejected, or hated, but it will persist as a beacon of light in a dark world.
Daniel the prophet, and his three friends exiled to Babylon, changed the direction of a nation and its king because they held to convictions of conscience based on Scripture. Three such instances come to mind:
(1) Daniel was a man who lived according to his convictions such that when he spoke about his God the king listened. As a young man of royal Jewish blood, he and his three friends (Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah) chose to obey God and not sin against their consciences regarding the Law of Moses. They made it clear to their Babylonian captors that trusting God in dietary matters was so important that they were willingly to put themselves at risk of death rather than disobey their God. (Daniel 1:11-13) When Daniel and his friends thrived on the diet prescribed by God they had opportunity to demonstrate their wisdom and thus found favor with King Nebuchadnezzar. (Daniel 1:15-20) Later, Daniel stood out from all the pagan advisors and revealed the king’s dream. The king acknowledged that “your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings”. (Daniel 2:47)
(2) King Nebuchadnezzar erected a golden image some time later and required everyone in the kingdom to worship the image. (Daniel 3:10-11) Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (by then called by their Babylonian names: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego) had no problem respectfully standing as citizens before a national symbol. However, they refused to fall down and worship an idol. (Daniel 3:12) Their conviction was that they could not disobey their God. (Daniel 3:16-18) When they emerged unscathed from the fiery furnace it was their conviction and miraculous deliverance that prompted Nebuchadnezzar to call them "servants of the Most High God," proclaiming “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-ego.” He rightly concluded, “there is no other God that can deliver after this sort.” (Daniel 3:28-29) He then promoted them to government posts in the province! (Daniel 3:30)
(3) Many years later, Daniel’s testimony (the same Hebrew word as “witness”) was so strong in the then Medo-Persian empire that his jealous detractors could find nothing about which to accuse him; he was esteemed by everyone to be faithful to his king and lived a life without error or fault. (Daniel 6:4) Daniel’s opponents crafted a law requiring all petitions to be directed to the king and forbade anyone from praying directly to their god. (Daniel 6:7-9) They knew Daniel to be a man of godly principal and conviction so they reasoned that he would be executed when he held to his faith. Otherwise, he and his God would be discredited if he hypocritically obeyed the law. Either way they would rid the Empire of Daniel! Knowing this was a trap aimed specifically at him, he still chose to continue his daily prayers of thanksgiving and petitions to God rather than obey the king’s law forbidding it. (Daniel 6:10) Like his three friends years earlier, His simple obedience to God resulted in arrest and condemnation to death. As we know, God protected him (Daniel 6:22) and King Darius issued this proclamation: “…that in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for He is the living God…and His kingdom …shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall be even unto the end. He delivereth and rescueth, and He worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.” (Daniel 6:26-27)
Sometimes there is a price for holding fast to Biblical convictions. The choices we make are sometimes especially far-reaching when serving in a foreign country. What is a “cultural difference” requiring flexibility and adaptation for the sake of the Gospel? What is a matter of conscience requiring steadfast conviction? God’s wisdom, based on Scripture, is needed to make the right choices. Each of us will eventually come face-to-face with situations when we must chose between obeying Scripture or men’s rules. In the examples of Daniel and his friends their convictions resulted in persecution then led to a verbal witness. In each case they didn’t know what the outcome would be. But they still held to their convictions.
When we silently obey God we open an opportunity to point others toward “the Most High God.” More people notice this than we may ever know. Our choice to not offend our conscience before God in a seemingly inconsequential matter could cause someone observing us to think about who God is. Our choice in a matter of worship speaks to others of our concept of who God is. Even a silent prayer – bowing to thank God for a meal in a restaurant – could cause another to think about God and change the direction of their life.
A silent witness of moral and ethical conviction in public is certainly powerful. Our silent witness among families and friends who know us might be more persuasive. More on that in our next installment.
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