The idea that we cannot or should not defy ‘Woke” culture is tough for me to deal with. Increasingly in various articles and writings, companies and individuals face the onslaught of Woke attitudes that say ‘do this’ or ‘do not do that’. My title today refers to ‘defying norms’. Norms are anything in culture or social media, that declares something should be done in a certain way. Older generations that have been around for a while, have already established their own norms, which will be potentially difficult to change.
Today we look at the story of Daniel when he was first brought into exile with his people in the country of Babylon, under Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. There are some great lessons to be learned about defying norms. In Daniel, chapter 1 we read: 8 But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. 9 Now God had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel, 10 but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.”
11 Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then
compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal
food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.” 14 So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.
15 At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. 16 So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.
If we consider the Babylonians as the ‘woke’ culture, and Daniel as the person reacting to the impositions, we can learn a number of good lessons from this book in the Holy Bible.
1) God’s Norms at work
We discover very quickly after Daniel is introduced that he has established principles and ways of thinking. It is irrelevant to me as to why the Babylonian food was unacceptable. It was enough to know that God had declared it unclean. It should be so, with any Christian, when we follow God/Christ. In our hearts and way of life, the Holy Spirit instructs and explains life to us, as we need it. This part of our relationship with God can be very reassuring. When God says it, we have assurance that His promises are true, and the norms we are following are His.
2) the ‘woke’ side needs compassion
In many ways this is probably the hardest thing needed to deal with Woke culture. In the news many of us have seen that woke culture can be unforgiving, unyielding, and lacking in compassion. The lack of compassion is what reveals they are wrong. When we meet a person who has an unyielding perspective, with no desire to attempt to explain or sway people to their ‘proper’ perspective, clearly there is no compassion. Daniel needed an advocate to affect change. The official in charge had been given a compassionate tone thanks to God’s intervention, and was willing to negotiate a change in perspective. The official did not have to press that he was right. He only had to allow for the experiment of allowing these four Israelites to demonstrate the wholesomeness of their perspective. For us as Christians, woke culture may or may not be ready to be compassionate. We need to be in prayer, and ask God to sensitize hearts to the possibility of compassion, rather than strictly adhering to their specific agenda.
3) Follow through on God’s norms
The biggest obstacle to defying Woke norms is a response of action. People will complain that they are getting a bad outtake from the the Woke side, but after the complaint they do nothing substantive about it. In today’s story, Daniel and his friends had cooperation from the Babylonian official and from Daniel’s friends. After a mere 10 days on the ‘new’ diet, the results were quite visible, and indisputable. God’s ways consistently demonstrate that the outcome will be in God’s favor. In order to respond to Woke culture, we need to take action which will be seen and treated fairly. This requires cooperation and follow through from the people involved. Too often, woke culture is willing to condemn and not compromise. If there is no willingness for compassion, the woke side is on a path of destruction and there will never be a solution from their side. We have to accept that God’s solution is right, even when the alternative is wrong.
