Compromise
I've been thinking about something for quite a while, and to be honest, it's had me stumped. See, being a Christian woman, wife, mom, grandma, every day is a struggle. Let me correct that a bit, for a woman, wife, mother, grandmother, everyday is a struggle...never mind throwing Christian in the mix.
I mean, seriously. How many of us, men or women, boys or girls, find themselves wondering if they should compromise their ideals, their morals, or even their better judgment? The little stuff doesn't seem to matter, putting a grocery basket close to a car that parked waaayyyy too close to your driver's side door, ignoring traffic lights or speed limits, texting while driving, watching a t.v. show you probably shouldn't, reading a book that's way out of your comfort zone, or that you've been told you shouldn't. Mouthing off when you should have kept your pie-hole shut. Viewing a web-site that is forbidden for whatever reason. The list is endless.
For most folks, sometimes the ends justify the means, or, a little peek won't hurt, or I'm a good driver, nothing will happen.
Then something happens. The consequences come to bear. Maybe it's a ticket. Or perhaps there was someone in that car, and you either bumped the car with your cart, or scratched the paint. Quite possibly you've been grounded for reading/visiting/watching something you shouldn't. When we compromise and do or ignore those things that the niggling inside of you, or an authority figure (parent, teacher, boss, law enforcement) says you shouldn't do, there are always consequences...maybe not right away, but there are repercussions. Always.
Now, throw being a Christian into the mix. There are all of the above to contend with on any given day, including things I didn't mention...how to parent, what to wear, those types of things. Everyone on this planet has to deal with all of these things, but add into that walking your talk, then stuff begins to get sticky. Not because you're held to a higher standard, but because you are held to a higher standard. Got you dizzy yet? Confused? Good, you should be.
See, being in a relationship with the Living God is not a compromise. Things are black and white, spelled out in black on white pages, including some red letters in there.
Being a Christian means living like Christ did, which for all of us, is nigh impossible. We can almost get there, but we will never become the Spotless Lamb of God. Only one Person in history was able to do that, and He's waiting at the Father's right hand, ready at a word to come back to get His Bride.
Still, there are things that we need to understand, things we can never compromise on without calling our own salvation into question, or even Christianity as a whole.
You know how this world is. There are those out there who love nothing more than to see a "Christian" fail. Then everything from hypocrite to narrow minded bigot to other unprintable words come into play. The compromise has the ability to destroy a testimony, and innately cripple any opportunity of witnessing the individual has toward those who have witnessed the faux pas.
So, what can we possibly do to guard against it? Well, knowing your Bible is a good place to start. The thing with the Bible is, it's not a pick and choose option. You either believe everything that is between the two covers or you don't. For those who are asking about the Laws given the Israelites, understand that theirs was a baby Nation, without laws or set morals. The Pentateuch was put together to help them to understand that laws needed to be put into place, and in some cases (such as sacrifices), we see them to be fluid. However, that said, the Commandments are not. They are set in stone, literally, and are our spiritual and moral compass. Now, I'm not saying that some of the Laws of Moses aren't beneficial. The dietary laws have long been touted as beneficial to long life and good health, but they are, again, fluid. The laws concerning murder, adultery, theft, well, those are considered moral laws, and in case you weren't sure, are encompassed within the Ten Commandments.
For those of you who are not sure of the wording of them, here they are: (Exodus 20:1-17 [notations mine])
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.” [10th Commandment]
***
So, let's look at some compromise here. How many of us have broken a Commandment? Easy answer? All of us. Does that mean that we are compromising? No, it means that as human beings, we are flawed by nature, and it is inherently impossible to keep all Ten Commandments in our lifetime. When we break one, we break them all. How, you ask? Let me give a couple of examples.
(a) Using the phrase, "Oh my G-d." Yup, using the Lord's name in vain
(b) Remember the Sabbath Day...no, it's not just the keeping, but the act of it. Now, there is controversy here amongst Christians, and trust me, I get the banter. For some, Saturday is the day they choose to worship, and that's fine, and in keeping with the 4th commandment, BUT.
The Christian Church as a general whole chooses to worship the Risen Christ on the day that He arose, what we call Sunday. That does not break the Sabbath, not resting on the seventh day does. You can bet that a bunch of Christians break that Commandment every week, myself included. Something always comes up, or we have a job that demands we work on Saturdays. This one is a very difficult one to keep.
(c) On adultery. Okay, there's the honest-to-goodness, dirty deed, and then there's the part that Jesus mentioned...lust. Admit it, you've lusted in your heart on more than one occasion, even if it never went farther than the thought phase.
(d) Not coveting your neighbor's house. Oops! We are always trying to keep up with the Joneses. Gotcha on that one, too.
See how easy it is to break a Commandment? How easy it is to fall into a habit? Let's face it, they're hard to keep, at any time! But, believe it or not, the Ten Commandments are not the reason for this post, despite the amount of space I've devoted to them.
No, the compromise I'm talking about is a bit different, and not based on the Old Testament, but on the New Testament Church.
The Apostle Paul broached the subject of compromise. In his first letter to the Corinthian church, Paul was made aware of things that the members where doing, and he addressed them. He mentioned the drunkards, the revilers, the fornicators, idolaters, homosexuals, adulterers, sodomites, extortioners, covetous, and thieves and reminded them that these will not see the kingdom of Heaven. He reminded them that some of the members once fell into one of these categories, but because of their Salvation through Jesus Christ, they had been forgiven of their sins. To be more specific, it was expected that having once asked forgiveness, one should turn from the sin and do it no more. Again, we're humans, and sometimes, we don't learn the first time. Stay with me, I really am going somewhere with this.
Paul said that all things (for the born-again Christian) are lawful, but not all things are helpful. What does he mean by this? He means, that just because you can, doesn't mean you should. Repeating a sin, because you know you're saved does not give you a pass to keep doing it. You will be judged for your continuing sin, because, the God who knows all, knows you...intimately. He knows your heart, and even though you "confess" your sin every time you commit it, He knows you're not sincere.
Then there's the compromise that's so prevalent in our society now. Going along with it.
Going along with something, just because everyone else says it's okay, even if it is a law of the land, is a dangerous compromise. Again, just because you can, doesn't mean you should, and to be frank, there are some things that should never be compromised on. We, as Christians are to obey the laws of the land, yes, but if they compromise the Word of God, or His laws, or seek to supersede them, then there is no room for compromise.
For the sake of space, I'm not going to list them, but I will encourage all of my readers to start in the book of Matthew and read all the way to Revelation. You will understand the compromises I'm talking about.
However, that said, I will say this. There are some things going on in our society that are wrong, period, and they involve our children. Our instructions are clear cut throughout the Bible, they start with the instructions on how to raise our children in the Old Testament, and conclude in the New. Jesus, Himself warns of offenses against the most innocent of us, our children. In Matthew 18:6-7 He says this:
6 “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!
Pretty cut and dried. Whoever causes these little ones to sin. The person who compromises and causes a child to believe and act in such a manner as to drive him into sin, they'd better watch out, it ain't gonna be pretty when you stand before God.
In conclusion, and I again apologise for the length here, as a Christian, compromise between the Word of God and the world is not something we should even consider. If something could conceivably cause you to stumble in your walk, then don't do it. An example, you are a recovering alcoholic, don't tempt yourself, nor put yourself in situations that will tempt you to fall back into the habit. For those of you who have a friend, family member or a new Christian who has this issue, do not (if you occasionally have a glass of wine, for example), place the temptation in front of such a one and not expect them to be okay with it. You will be held accountable for your actions.
If something you watch, read, hear could pull you from your walk with Christ, don't watch, read or listen to such a thing. I know, easier said than done, but it's doable. Have faith in the One who redeemed you, and let His Holy Spirit guide you...don't ignore His leading. For God, nothing is impossible even though for us, some things seem insurmountable.
Bottom line, if the Word of God spells it out in black and white (and red) as something that is wrong, then don't do it. If you feel that to do something might not be a good thing for you, in your walk or your witness, and it's not clearly spelled out in the Bible, then don't do it. Trust the Holy Spirit's prodding, His leading. Pray without ceasing, trust the God who formed you, who knew you before time began, and He will never lead you astray. Only doubt and compromise will do that, and the Word says that we will be held accountable for every deed, word and thought.
Have a blessed week, everyone!
I mean, seriously. How many of us, men or women, boys or girls, find themselves wondering if they should compromise their ideals, their morals, or even their better judgment? The little stuff doesn't seem to matter, putting a grocery basket close to a car that parked waaayyyy too close to your driver's side door, ignoring traffic lights or speed limits, texting while driving, watching a t.v. show you probably shouldn't, reading a book that's way out of your comfort zone, or that you've been told you shouldn't. Mouthing off when you should have kept your pie-hole shut. Viewing a web-site that is forbidden for whatever reason. The list is endless.
For most folks, sometimes the ends justify the means, or, a little peek won't hurt, or I'm a good driver, nothing will happen.
Then something happens. The consequences come to bear. Maybe it's a ticket. Or perhaps there was someone in that car, and you either bumped the car with your cart, or scratched the paint. Quite possibly you've been grounded for reading/visiting/watching something you shouldn't. When we compromise and do or ignore those things that the niggling inside of you, or an authority figure (parent, teacher, boss, law enforcement) says you shouldn't do, there are always consequences...maybe not right away, but there are repercussions. Always.
Now, throw being a Christian into the mix. There are all of the above to contend with on any given day, including things I didn't mention...how to parent, what to wear, those types of things. Everyone on this planet has to deal with all of these things, but add into that walking your talk, then stuff begins to get sticky. Not because you're held to a higher standard, but because you are held to a higher standard. Got you dizzy yet? Confused? Good, you should be.
See, being in a relationship with the Living God is not a compromise. Things are black and white, spelled out in black on white pages, including some red letters in there.
Being a Christian means living like Christ did, which for all of us, is nigh impossible. We can almost get there, but we will never become the Spotless Lamb of God. Only one Person in history was able to do that, and He's waiting at the Father's right hand, ready at a word to come back to get His Bride.
Still, there are things that we need to understand, things we can never compromise on without calling our own salvation into question, or even Christianity as a whole.
You know how this world is. There are those out there who love nothing more than to see a "Christian" fail. Then everything from hypocrite to narrow minded bigot to other unprintable words come into play. The compromise has the ability to destroy a testimony, and innately cripple any opportunity of witnessing the individual has toward those who have witnessed the faux pas.
So, what can we possibly do to guard against it? Well, knowing your Bible is a good place to start. The thing with the Bible is, it's not a pick and choose option. You either believe everything that is between the two covers or you don't. For those who are asking about the Laws given the Israelites, understand that theirs was a baby Nation, without laws or set morals. The Pentateuch was put together to help them to understand that laws needed to be put into place, and in some cases (such as sacrifices), we see them to be fluid. However, that said, the Commandments are not. They are set in stone, literally, and are our spiritual and moral compass. Now, I'm not saying that some of the Laws of Moses aren't beneficial. The dietary laws have long been touted as beneficial to long life and good health, but they are, again, fluid. The laws concerning murder, adultery, theft, well, those are considered moral laws, and in case you weren't sure, are encompassed within the Ten Commandments.
For those of you who are not sure of the wording of them, here they are: (Exodus 20:1-17 [notations mine])
The Ten Commandments
20 And God spoke all these words, saying:
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me. [1st Commandment]
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. [2nd Commandment]
7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. [3rd Commandment]
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. [4th Commandment]
12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. [5th Commandment]
13 “You shall not murder. [6th Commandment]
14 “You shall not commit adultery. [7th Commandment]
15 “You shall not steal. [8th Commandment]
16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. [9th Commandment]
***
So, let's look at some compromise here. How many of us have broken a Commandment? Easy answer? All of us. Does that mean that we are compromising? No, it means that as human beings, we are flawed by nature, and it is inherently impossible to keep all Ten Commandments in our lifetime. When we break one, we break them all. How, you ask? Let me give a couple of examples.
(a) Using the phrase, "Oh my G-d." Yup, using the Lord's name in vain
(b) Remember the Sabbath Day...no, it's not just the keeping, but the act of it. Now, there is controversy here amongst Christians, and trust me, I get the banter. For some, Saturday is the day they choose to worship, and that's fine, and in keeping with the 4th commandment, BUT.
The Christian Church as a general whole chooses to worship the Risen Christ on the day that He arose, what we call Sunday. That does not break the Sabbath, not resting on the seventh day does. You can bet that a bunch of Christians break that Commandment every week, myself included. Something always comes up, or we have a job that demands we work on Saturdays. This one is a very difficult one to keep.
(c) On adultery. Okay, there's the honest-to-goodness, dirty deed, and then there's the part that Jesus mentioned...lust. Admit it, you've lusted in your heart on more than one occasion, even if it never went farther than the thought phase.
(d) Not coveting your neighbor's house. Oops! We are always trying to keep up with the Joneses. Gotcha on that one, too.
See how easy it is to break a Commandment? How easy it is to fall into a habit? Let's face it, they're hard to keep, at any time! But, believe it or not, the Ten Commandments are not the reason for this post, despite the amount of space I've devoted to them.
No, the compromise I'm talking about is a bit different, and not based on the Old Testament, but on the New Testament Church.
The Apostle Paul broached the subject of compromise. In his first letter to the Corinthian church, Paul was made aware of things that the members where doing, and he addressed them. He mentioned the drunkards, the revilers, the fornicators, idolaters, homosexuals, adulterers, sodomites, extortioners, covetous, and thieves and reminded them that these will not see the kingdom of Heaven. He reminded them that some of the members once fell into one of these categories, but because of their Salvation through Jesus Christ, they had been forgiven of their sins. To be more specific, it was expected that having once asked forgiveness, one should turn from the sin and do it no more. Again, we're humans, and sometimes, we don't learn the first time. Stay with me, I really am going somewhere with this.
Paul said that all things (for the born-again Christian) are lawful, but not all things are helpful. What does he mean by this? He means, that just because you can, doesn't mean you should. Repeating a sin, because you know you're saved does not give you a pass to keep doing it. You will be judged for your continuing sin, because, the God who knows all, knows you...intimately. He knows your heart, and even though you "confess" your sin every time you commit it, He knows you're not sincere.
Then there's the compromise that's so prevalent in our society now. Going along with it.
Going along with something, just because everyone else says it's okay, even if it is a law of the land, is a dangerous compromise. Again, just because you can, doesn't mean you should, and to be frank, there are some things that should never be compromised on. We, as Christians are to obey the laws of the land, yes, but if they compromise the Word of God, or His laws, or seek to supersede them, then there is no room for compromise.
For the sake of space, I'm not going to list them, but I will encourage all of my readers to start in the book of Matthew and read all the way to Revelation. You will understand the compromises I'm talking about.
However, that said, I will say this. There are some things going on in our society that are wrong, period, and they involve our children. Our instructions are clear cut throughout the Bible, they start with the instructions on how to raise our children in the Old Testament, and conclude in the New. Jesus, Himself warns of offenses against the most innocent of us, our children. In Matthew 18:6-7 He says this:
6 “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!
Pretty cut and dried. Whoever causes these little ones to sin. The person who compromises and causes a child to believe and act in such a manner as to drive him into sin, they'd better watch out, it ain't gonna be pretty when you stand before God.
In conclusion, and I again apologise for the length here, as a Christian, compromise between the Word of God and the world is not something we should even consider. If something could conceivably cause you to stumble in your walk, then don't do it. An example, you are a recovering alcoholic, don't tempt yourself, nor put yourself in situations that will tempt you to fall back into the habit. For those of you who have a friend, family member or a new Christian who has this issue, do not (if you occasionally have a glass of wine, for example), place the temptation in front of such a one and not expect them to be okay with it. You will be held accountable for your actions.
If something you watch, read, hear could pull you from your walk with Christ, don't watch, read or listen to such a thing. I know, easier said than done, but it's doable. Have faith in the One who redeemed you, and let His Holy Spirit guide you...don't ignore His leading. For God, nothing is impossible even though for us, some things seem insurmountable.
Bottom line, if the Word of God spells it out in black and white (and red) as something that is wrong, then don't do it. If you feel that to do something might not be a good thing for you, in your walk or your witness, and it's not clearly spelled out in the Bible, then don't do it. Trust the Holy Spirit's prodding, His leading. Pray without ceasing, trust the God who formed you, who knew you before time began, and He will never lead you astray. Only doubt and compromise will do that, and the Word says that we will be held accountable for every deed, word and thought.
Have a blessed week, everyone!
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