Pavlov's Dogs

Feb. 6

Read: Daniel 2:48-3:15

Pavlov’s Dogs

Every “kingdom” seeks the elevation and worship of its king. (And the same can be said about the “kings” themselves!) “Kingdoms” and kings are always striving to set up for themselves a “golden statue” and then make everyone bow down and worship it/them. Individuals may dress this idea up at times with many different terms: influence, legacy, impact, pride and sometimes even frame it as a matter of their “rights” or “justice”… but more often than not, these efforts boil down to “golden statue building”. For the latter, any rejection of the “golden statue” they have built is a rejection of THEM, hence it is seen as a major OFFENSE. Matthew Henry says this: “Pride and bigotry cause men to require their subjects to follow their religion, whether right or wrong, and when worldly interest allures, and punishment overawes, few refuse.”

King Nebuchadnezzar is more forthright in that he plainly sets up his golden statue to represent himself and to be worshipped. He openly and directly seeks the destruction of anyone who will not “bow down”. (v.3:6) How fragile one must be to rely so desperately on the worship of others! How shallow is that worship when it is carried out under compulsion and the threat of death in a furnace. Golden statues, fragile kings, and shallow worship come in all shapes and sizes - as such, the people of God must be aware. This begs the question who (or what) do WE worship? What motivates our worship… and causes us to “fall down and worship”?

These “golden statues” and acts of “falling down to worship” coincide with a “trigger” of sorts in Daniel 3. Do you notice what it is? ”…When you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.” (v.4) The people are to be triggered by music and every time they hear it they bow down… like Pavlov’s dogs. What “triggers” you into worship? Think about this the next time the worship band starts to play at the opening of the Sunday service! LOL. The point is that our senses - in this case hearing - play a roll in “triggering” us to worship. As the children of God, we engage all of our senses and are brought into worship. We hear the sounds of those sharing with us, or the birds calling in the morning, or a song of worship… and it causes us to “bow down”. We see the sunrise or sunset, the majesty of the mountains, the smile in a friends face, the words of the scriptures on their pages… and we worship. We feel the embrace of a friend, the soft fur of an animal, or the hand of the spouse that God has given us held in ours… and we give thanks! We taste the goodness of the food we eat, and the refreshing beverages we drink… and are reminded of the “bread of life” and “living water” that comes in/through Christ. Our senses have and will always be a “trigger” to worship. What are we triggered by and what / whom do we bow down to when it happens.

This is the power and gift of God’s people: that we do not and must not mindlessly “bow down” to every sound or statue put in front of us. We do not “bow down” even under the threat of a fiery furnace or the rejection of others. The people of God are conscientious in what they reject AND conscientious in what we WORSHIP. When we are deceived into thinking that our “kings” are not “golden statue makers” forcing us to “bow down and worship” every time the “music plays” - we are easily duped into FALSE WORSHIP of inferior gods… especially when threatened with being rejected, canceled, or called “un-woke”! (Thankfully it is not the case we in the US are threatened with fire… but many of our brothers and sisters in Christ actually ARE!) The enemy uses FEAR and GUILT to manipulate worship, whereas Jesus calls us with LOVR and TRUTH to follow him. We need not be afraid, but we also must not bow down to any other than the ONE TRUE KING that is Jesus. The Kingdom of God is seeking to elevate its King (Jesus) as well. Jesus is “being lifted high” so as to draw “all people” to himself. (cf. John 3:14,12:32) King Jesus calls us to worship HIM, triggered by our senses. The hearts or God’s people over flow with praise when we see, hear, taste, touch, and smell the world around us. Never bow down to anything other than the Lord. Love you guys! - JDP