I AM SINGULAR

“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.” Daniel 3:16-18

I don’t have to be Satisfied because everyone else seems to be.

Rocking the boat. Going against the grain. Disrupting the status quo. Have you ever been accused of this? Have people ever looked at you differently because you didn’t want to just take what was being given, even though everyone else around you had been doing it for however long it’d been being done? This is something that my skinfolk know all too well. For the past 400+ years we haven’t been seen merely as annoying or disruptive for questioning the way things are… we’ve been considered dangerous and a threat. I haven’t focused much on Black History Month here but since we’re winding down the month, why not? Looking at the greats from the abolitionism era and the civil rights movement, every person who stood up for change was looked at differently. Some saw them as leaders, some as heroes, some as threats, some as annoyances, and even some as obstacles. But one thing they absolutely were was Singular. Special. Set apart. Different. No matter how you felt about what they were standing against, they were the few brave enough to do so.

In your life, are you brave enough to be Singular? To stand against the status quo and demand your own happiness and mental wellbeing? Are you ready to defend your right to adequate time off work? Fair grading scales at school? Just laws in your district? Mutual respect in your relationships? Are you ready to stand firm in your Singularness? Even if you’re a little nervous about it, let me affirm you to greatness and hopefully, a readiness to stand.

Do you remember the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? And how they were made an example of by King Nebuchadnezzar? He erected a golden statue of himself and demanded all people bow before it when the horn was sounded for fear of death. We don’t know how everyone felt about this mandate, but we do know how they felt about their lives because on the day the horn sounded, every head and knee was bowed down for this statue. All but three. These three had a message for the king. The said to him “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16-18) They boldly stood against the status quo and said whether we live or die, we’re not bowing down. That’s a lot of Singularity right there. To be bold enough to risk your life for what you believe in. I’m sure there were some others there who would rather not bow before a golden king, but they weren’t bold enough to take the same stand. They chose to be Satisfied enough to keep their life. The way the story ends, God does save them, and Nebuchadnezzar had a change of heart. That is a great reward for not settling.

Now, my hope is that you don’t find yourself in a life or death situation, standing up for yourself. My hope is that in your life you have enough peace and harmony to not need to become a rebel and defend. But if you don’t and you find yourself needing to defend… I pray you be Singular and defend with honor. If you find yourself faced with traumatic struggles from being in situations like these, whether you chose to defend or to preserve, the only right choice is the one you can live with. And you’re here living and breathing now to make more choices in the future. I hope they are good ones. I hope one of the choices you make will be to process those experiences with a trained professional who can help you. And I hope you find support as you make these decisions.

All in all, stand firm in your faith and don’t let anyone talk you into settling for “almost” Satisfied out of a promise for comfort. Be true to yourself and what you know is right, find proper support for when times get rough, and be Singular. I love you, and as always, I’m rooting for you. Keep conquering daily.