Larry Osborne’s Thriving in Babylon: Why Hope, Humility, and Wisdom Matter in a Godless Culture ($9.99 for the Kindle edition on Amazon) is a great read with special relevance for any Christian who wants to respond to today’s American culture in a godly, balanced, biblical, and redemptive way. This book is a great example of why the Bible is always relevant to both life and today’s culture. Osborne makes the following observation, and then, in the balance of the book he shows how the experiences and example of Daniel offer a hope-filled way forward:
We live in a world gone haywire. Our moral fabric seems to be decaying at breakneck speed. Things that were once shamefully hidden are now publicly celebrated. The previously unimaginable has become commonplace. In a few short decades our culture’s response to Bible-believing Christians has gone from grudging respect . . . to indifference, to outright hostility . . . Yet Daniel . . . found a way, in a culture far more wicked than anything we face, to glorify and serve God with such integrity and power that kings, peasants, and an entire nation turned to acknowledge the splendor of the living God.
How Did Daniel Do It?
Osborne’s premise is that Daniel’s life was marked by three qualities that are found in “increasingly short supply today. Simply put, he (Daniel) was a man of great hope, humility, and wisdom. These were the traits that set him apart. They gave him courage, credibility, and perspective.”
A Frank Discussion Of Important Issues
The first two sections of the book tackle a number of important issues such as why sometimes God chooses to be with believers “in their trials rather than delivering them from their trials.” He also addresses the fact that “sometimes the innocent suffer with the guilty.” Finally, Osborne frankly concludes that “the primary reason for our long run of spiritual and cultural setbacks . . . (is) sin in the camp” rather than any failure to fight harder or smarter in the so-called “culture wars.”
Key Quality #1 – Biblical Hope
Daniel was a man of hope. However, biblical hope has nothing to do with “wistful thinking or positive visualization.” “Daniel had hope in the biblical sense of the word. He had a deep-seated confidence in God’s character and sovereignty.” Osborne goes on to explain that biblical hope is “the deep-seated optimism and confidence that comes from knowing that God can be trusted even when we have no idea what he’s up to.” Daniel’s hope gave him courage.
Key Quality # 2 – Humility
Humility is how credibility is earned. Osborne is quick to point out that true humility has nothing to do with low self-esteem or a lack of ambition. “At its core, biblical humility is simply serving others by putting their needs and interests above our own.” It means treating others as important no matter who they are. “It not only serves those who deserve it. It serves those who don’t deserve it.” Daniel’s humility is most clearly demonstrated by the honor and respect he showed a godless leader like Nebuchadnezzar. Osborne observes, “If we’re unwilling to treat godless leaders with respect, we’ll have no chance of influencing their decisions and actions. No one listens to people who look down on them with contempt or distain.” Osborne concludes, Daniel “didn’t humbly serve his Babylonian captors because he expected a quick reward. He did it because it was the right thing to do.”
Key Quality #3 – Wisdom
The final section of the book is devoted to the subject of wisdom and the power of perspective. The truly wise man understands that some things aren’t worth dying for. “Daniel’s wisdom was rooted in the fear of the Lord . . . Daniel and his friends always chose the path of obedience even if it seemed certain to cost them their lives . . . at the same time, Daniel knew that not everything was worth dying for. He knew the difference between sin and the things he found personally offensive and distasteful . . . He picked his battles wisely.” Osborne observes, “We tend to confuse what we don’t like with what God forbids. So we get worked up and go to battle over things that would have caused Daniel to shrug his shoulders.”
A Great Read
Larry Osborne is one of my favorite authors. I own, and have read, most of his books. I consider Thriving in Babylon: Why Hope, Humility, and Wisdom Matter in a Godless Culture a great read. I have only hit a few of the highlights found in this thoughtful and well-written volume. I can’t improve on Osborne’s great conclusion. Therefore, I’ll simply use it as the final summary statement for this brief review:
Don’t buy the lie that you don’t matter. You do. Don’t buy the lie that your response to the evil in your workplace, community, family, and nation doesn’t matter. It does. We just have to push the right buttons. They’re called hope, humility, and wisdom. It’s what Daniel did thousands of years ago. It’s what God asks us to do today. It’s how he thrived in Babylon. And it’s how we can thrive in our own modern-day Babylon.