Compromise is two-sided by definition: 1) Compromise is a means to settle a dispute by mutual concession, to basically meet in the middle of an issue to find a happy medium; 2) Compromise therefore requires the acceptance of standards that are lower than desirable, or less than the considered ideal. Compromise requires both parties to yield a portion of what they hold to be true. Rather than compromise, wouldn’t it be better to have dialog using logic and reason to discover what is in our mutual best interest? When people are truly operating in love, they will not operate from a self-serving position. Rather, they will seek the best for all involved.
Jesus never compromised. Jesus always sought the best for others, even at His own expense. Jesus demonstrated what it is to truly operate from love.
Our world today is in chaos on nearly every level. People everywhere are cynical and jaded. Yet because of the creatures we are, we still look for hope. Deep in our being, there’s a belief that hope exists, even when we can’t see any way for it to be realized. This intrinsic desire for a real and certain hope is different from how the word “hope” is often used. We might say, “I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow.” That kind of hope s actually wishful thinking. But the intrinsic hope within each human being is very different. It is a deep-seated desire that good overcome evil.
In any culture of any religious belief, hope springs eternal, because God created humans with hope. As humans, we will always desire a positive outcome. The question is, what do we consider positive or good? Is the thing we hope for self-serving or others serving?
Imagine if world government leaders were truly interested in what is mutually beneficial. What if couples actually allowed love to be the guide in their relationships? If love were the guide, trust, safety and security would not be jeopardized in any way. To love is to think of others as better than ourselves—there’s not a trace of self-serving involved.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7, 13 reads: “Love suffers long and is kind; love envies not; love flaunts not itself and is not puffed up, does not behave itself improperly, seeks not its own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil; rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. … So now abide faith, hope, and love, these three. But the greatest of these is love.”
Truth is essential for hope. Hope must be based on truth. If our hope is based on a falsehood, we have no hope at all. People who claim “truth is relative” are actually operating from a self-serving perspective whether they realize it or not. Claiming that truth is relative is a means to have one’s preferred deviance from truth accepted by others. Compromising the truth is always dangerous.
Barna Research Group surveys people to understand American opinion. Specific to practicing self-professed Christians, they discovered:
- 61 percent agree with ideas rooted in New Age Spirituality
- 54 percent resonate with Postmodernist views (general distrust of traditional ideas)
- 36 percent accept ideas associated with Marxism
- 29 percent believe ideas based on secularism
Compromise of the truth by the church is evident from the perspective that Christianity, the Bible and the church are deemed irrelevant, an opinion held by a multitude of people. I’m appealing to every committed Christian to not only stand in the gap but become engaged in our culture to follow in Christ’s example. Jesus demonstrated how to speak the truth in love, thereby helping people recognize where they were misguided, wrong or deceived on a matter. With loving respect, Jesus presented the truth with logic and reason, giving each person an opportunity to reconsider what they believe. Speaking the truth in love is exactly what the world needs today, perhaps now more than ever. And I must include the evidence of compromise and the impeding dangers among professing Christians. We need reformation to begin with the church.
I ask you to intercede and pray in all earnest. If Christians are compromising truth, what example or hope does the world have? Imagine the impact if every committed Christian, took the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20) to heart and followed Jesus’ example. This is precisely what the world needs, and what Jesus has commanded us to do. If we fail truth and hope will not ultimately fail, but we will have to account for the eternal suffering souls we didn’t try to reach.
I hope that, like me, you would rather be found busy about our Father’s business, doing what He’s commanded us to do, than compromising the Christian faith, thereby diminishing its power.
Will you commit to prayer, living an uncompromising faith and sharing the truth you have with those who need it? If so, no matter how bleak things look in the world today, we have the very real and certain hope of overcoming the danger of compromise with the love of Christ. {eoa}
For over 25 years, Pamela Christian has compassionately helped people in matters of faith as a Bible teacher, keynote retreat and conference speaker, radio and television talk-show host, award-winning author and apologetics enthusiast (Biola University). Pamela uniquely helps people discover and live in life-giving truth and experience the victorious power available through faith in Christ. More at pamelachristianministries.
This article originally appeared at pamelachristianministries.com.
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