Do You Compromise?

Do you think compromise is a good thing or a bad thing? It sounds like it would be good. The negotiator in an argument, for example, might think compromise is a GOOD thing. He might desire compromise above all else. It's his ultimate goal. A negotiator's highest priority is to arrive at a peaceful solution. Everybody compromises. Everybody wins, right? Yay!

What about a parachute manufacturer? Should he compromise when selecting the materials with which he makes his parachutes? What's the thinnest para chord he could get away with? Do we really need the highest quality nylon? Couldn't we compromise and make do with something a little more . . . inferior? Hmm. Maybe compromise is not good in ALL of life's situations.

What about our faith? Have we compromise in our beliefs? Do we compromise in how often we pray or read the Bible? Do we compromise in our church attendance or in our offerings? There are many places to compromise.

Here's a tougher question. Do you compromise in your relationships? Here's a relationship scenario for you. One friend texts you and wants to hang out but you don't give them an answer right away, hoping one of your "better" friends will want to hang out as well. Haven't you just compromised one relationship in hopes of enhancing another?

Do you compromise with God? Read this verse from the Gospel of Mark.

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." - Mark 12:30-31

Do you find much wiggle room in the word "all?" Jesus just told us that we are to love God with everything we have. Do you think Jesus wants us to compromise? I think not.

So what do we do? We all tend to procrastinate and compromise in our commitments to others, even God, depending on our own selfish needs.

Here's another scenario. You've just gone to bed after a long tiring day at work. Suddenly the phone rings. It's a friend who needs help. What do you do? Do you compromise? Do you try to pass your friend off to someone else? "Have you tried calling Steve? He lives closer."

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."

The word "all" leaves little room for doubt in what God wants us to do in the situation I just mentioned. The appropriate answer in God's eyes is, "I'll be right there."

We are servants . . . slaves . . . to the most-high God. We don't get to compromise or procrastinate or say 'no." We are the ones who say, "Here I am Lord. Send me." 

"8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” 9 And he said, “Go," - Isaiah 6:8-9

Let us be the kind of Christians who move. Let us be the ones who take action, who take the risks for our King. There is no compromise in us!

Here I Am Lord - John Michael Talbot