The Pulpit Speaks: May 27, 1961

An article written by my father, the Rev. C. Thomas Paige, as it appeared in the Tri-State Defender on the date shown.

One of the most dynamic accounts of human determination found in the Bible is revealed in the story of the three Hebrew boys being placed in the firey furnace in the absence of their willingness to bow before the king. The king had already given the command: “Bow or Burn!” Today we live on the same plane as these young men found themselves. Everywhere we find ourselves facing extermination if we do not yield to certain pressures about us. It is a matter of conformity or extinction. We must make up our minds that either we are going to confirm or cease existing.

These three Hebrew boys chose rather to die for that which they deemed important than to live in the midst of all this world could afford. This is the attitude all of us must take. There must be something in each of our lives for which we are willing to die. A man should be willing to die for his wife, a wife should be willing to die for her husband, each should be willing to die for their children. On down the line, this should be true for all of us. Life for each of us should have some dynamic purpose.

Years ago, I played football. For us, it was a matter of victory or die. The coach would tell us to go out there and win – or die trying. Sprained ankles, stomach aches, headaches and the like that keep so many young people in our day from participating never dawned upon us. For us, the game was the thing that counted. For these three Hebrew boys, their lives meant little or nothing. So must this be to each of us. There must come a time in our lives when we refuse to bend. Whatever the price might be, we must hold on to that which is noblest, and with faith, hope for the best. These three Hebrew boys dared to stand up to the king and tell him “we will not bow.” This must be a motivating force in our lives.

Life itself is a challenge! Our very existence is based on the fact that we nobly accept this challenge and do all within our power to live life on its highest plane. If the time comes when, in defense of our most cherished beliefs we must chose between bowing and burning, we should chose to burn. This is the noblest goal for which this life was designed.

We live in a day of bowing. All about us, we see people who have chosen to bow with the slightest pressure. Anything that threatens to disturb their present security meets with a gentle surrender on the part of far too many people. The whole plan of life boils down to the fact that life is not a matter of bowing. We must not be shaken by every wind that blows. We must — somewhere in the panorama of life — find the strength to stand up and fight.

As much as the king demanded of these Hebrew bows that they bow or burn, there is another side to the whole picture. Jesus admonished those who listen to Him to bow or burn. Failure to live up to the standards as laid down by the Christian church will mean that all of us will burn. It therefore behooves all of us to do that which is within our power to face up to life at its most critical moments and, thereby, win the favor of God. This is the greatest reward we can expect out of noble living on this earth.

Yet as one looks at life, we must not look at it in terms of fears of burning but rather as a matter of a spiritual challenge to do the noblest of which we are capable. We are all stewards here. We must think in terms of making some worthy contributions here. We must feel free to go into the firey furnaces, if need be, and there place our all on the altar. We must never allow ourselves to bow to the pressures of this world that our security might be spared. We must stand up and face the burning charges of our day and time and come out of each circumstance with a greater polish, that we might attract the faltering host that has chosen to bow. Life is not a matter of bowing or burning but rather a matter of standing up for the best in us.