compromise

(Luke 7 , Genesis 3, Romans 12)

Been thinking about compromise. And what it means in my life.

Was reading from the first chapters of ‘dating delilah’ and it made me think about what happens when we compromise and allow our lives to be a product of our cultural trends.

When we compromise and yield ourselves to the cultural trends around us, the ideals of this deteriorating world drag us down when we allow them to dictate us, and God’s plan for us is bypassed. (Romans 12:2 MSG)

Compromise leads to a loss of a God given authority that spans across every aspect of our lives – personal, work/school, ministry, family - authority that was given over to us by God just by being a follower of Christ.

Simple case in point – Genesis. Adam was given dominion over everything on the earth. When he didn’t take authority over the snake that was tempting his wife, but succumbed to what it was saying, he lost his God appointed authority to Satan.

Perhaps that is why their eyes were only opened to their nakedness only after Adam partook of the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

(by the way, I disagree that it was the woman’s fault – Genesis 3:6 says that her husband was with her)

Compromise makes us put up with things that we have the authority to cast out, and instead of being the conquerors and victors that God has made us to be, we allow the guilt and shame to overwhelm our lives.

When Adam compromised, everything was taken away from him. He and his wife were cast out from the garden and the curse was placed upon them. When we compromise, there is a dilution from God’s original plan for us.

There is in a way, a death (Luke 7:12) of what God had meant us to be. The enemy uses our compromises to allow guilt, shame and uncertainty into our lives to draw us away from a good and loving God.

But as it is with God, there always is a way out.

When we choose to change our minds and decide that we are done with our compromising, Jesus redeems that which has been lost. He was the one that died on the cross to redeem us from the curse. He is the one that will make us more than conquerers and victorious in Him when we turn to Him for hope and restoration.

Sure, I don’t doubt that sometimes there are consequences as a result of compromising. But I believe, if He could raise the dead (Luke7:14) He can turn around anything.