¹² Now there are some Jews, ones you appointed to administer the province of Babylon—specifically, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—who have ignored your command. They don’t serve your gods, and they don’t worship the gold statue you’ve set up.” (Dan. 3:12, CEB)

What happens when belief clashes with culture? When the idols of the culture are so prevalent and your lack of participation is so obvious… what then?

What happens when a group of friends realize you don’t value the exact same things they value and the idol becomes obvious? What then?

The Kingdom of God will always clash with empires. Even the empire we find ourselves in today. I’m not anti-American. I’m not unpatriotic.

But I am aligned with the Kingdom of God more fully than the the culture of this world. Those values will clash. And in that day… what then?