This was a question I meditated on, one that jumped out at me while I was reading the book of Daniel, chapter 3 verses 1 to 5, where Nebuchadnezzar built, or should I more accurately say, commissioned the construction of a massive statue and commanded that everyone bow down and worship it.
Before I go on, here’s a side thought: I genuinely wonder how insecure Nebuchadnezzar must have been, or perhaps how bored, that this is what he chose to do with his time, power, fame, status, and money. He commanded his people to worship the statue, and there were dire consequences for anyone who refused.
Thinking about it now, in this day and age, we don’t have a single king ruling over everyone, at least most countries don’t. But in a way, there is something called society. I’m not even sure whose society it truly is, because it has no face, no gender, no race. And yet, it is that powerful. Society has persuaded, and sometimes even pressured, people into bowing to things they ordinarily wouldn’t care about. Things that make no sense. Things they could easily live without. Things they wouldn’t have given a second thought to on their own.
Think about it this way: if Nebuchadnezzar had simply built the statue and left it alone, a handful of people might have gone to admire it. It was magnificent, after all, a display of the king’s power and wealth. Maybe a sycophant or two would have gone to worship it, but that would have been it. Most people wouldn’t have cared. The moment he declared that everyone must worship it, suddenly it became serious. Suddenly it mattered.
That thought hit me while I was journaling, and it’s something I try to keep at the back of my mind, not as often as I should, admittedly. It’s also why I tend to push back strongly against what “they” say you’re supposed to do, especially when I don’t even know who “they” are, and I don’t particularly care about the thing in question to begin with. I’m not claiming to be completely immune to this, but it’s something I consciously try to watch out for.
Thanks for reading.