The story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego (Daniel 3) is one of the favorite stories of young people. Most of us have admired the faith of those men since we were children.

Their commitment was to God, and they said that He was able to deliver them, but if He did not choose to do so, they still would not worship the gold image that Nebuchadnezzar had made (Dan. 3:17,18). That was commitment to serve God regardless of circumstances. Any less commitment is not acceptable to God. Jesus said that we must love Him more than we love father, mother, wife, children, brother, sister or even our own lives (Lk. 14:25,26). When a person has made the commitment to serve God even if it costs him his life, nothing short of that will turn him from God.

What do you think the three Hebrews would have done if a fellow Jew had offended them? Would they have turned their backs on God? There is no evidence that their own people offended them, but their response to Nebuchadnezzar leaves little doubt what their response would have been. Their commitment was to God, not to their fellow men. Likewise, when our commitment is to God, the actions of our fellow men, nor the circumstances of life will turn us from faithfulness to Him.