There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death. – Proverbs 14:12
The word compromise indicates that we are ready to make a concession in order to make peace or to agree on something. In a sense, we are lowering our standard or changing our views so that we can come to a solution that is satisfactory to all those involved. We know that we have to make concessions in what we believe so that we can achieve an outcome.
Compromise sometimes involves us raising our standard. It is more like coming down to meet someone then going up. Those we are seeking an agreement with rarely move from their original stance. If they do, they don’t move too far up or down, and they certainly never want to go all the way to our standard. So, we compromise and start going down, to their level, with both parties meeting somewhere in the middle.
As Christians, our standard should also be God’s standard. God has given a set of guidelines in the Bible that we adopt as soon as we are born again. We are to live our lives by God’s standard and not by the world’s. When we compromise, we are rejecting God’s standard and lowering ourselves down to worldly standards. The world rarely raises itself to meet God’s standards.
Even when the world’s standard looks good, feels right or is beneficial, it can be wrong. Moral issues can have such a fine line between what looks good and what is actually good. As humans, our definition of good can sometimes differ from God’s definition.
When you are face with compromising your God standard and making it a good standard, the conflict can be evident. If the compromise looks good, how can it be wrong? A good compromise can be wrong when it is not of God. For example, telling a white lie to protect someone from a painful truth is seen as good by some people but to God it is still lying.
Continually, lowering our God standard to meet the world’s good standard will compromise our faith. As we gradually conform to the world’s standard of what is good, we lose sight of God’s good. People want to take the easy route to solving their problems, so they will settle for what looks good or right. Taking on God’s standard is hard, and few people choose it. Even those of us who Christians get tempted and opt for the easy way.
Holding on to God’s standard and not compromising it is something all Christians must face. We have to learn that the price of compromise is a dear one. It will end in us losing our faith and eventually our soul. It is one of continual battles we have to fight here on earth. There are a lot of good worldly standards but there are many God standards that are not only good but our beneficial not just to our soul, our life but to others around us. Standing firm and not giving into compromise is something we all must do.
Are you willing to keep God’s standard and not pay the price of compromise?
Originally published May 2019