Would we say that we are people of integrity? Yes/No – Maybe?
We all know what it feels to make decisions that dilute our values and our belief systems. We all know that feeling in our stomach or our heart where the echo of our decision seems to be screaming ” YOU JUST COMPROMISED”. Are you okay with that?
We know that compromise at its core has a good side and a bad side.
Today, we are not going to focus on the negotiation aspect of the word compromise. We are going to go a little deeper and we are going to settle into the fact that compromise has an ugly side that invites us all to taste its crafty delicacies.
It’s obvious that sometimes we compromise to avoid conflict.
In that moment, we don’t care about our integrity, we are just trying to survive another day of holding back maybe nagging pain or the pretense we have been living in.
Ready to hear a verse that clearly reminds us how our decisions matter even if we are ignoring the heart nudges God is sending our way in those moments.
James 4:17 is clear when it says, “If anyone, then knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.” OUCH.
When we know what is right and fail to act accordingly, we separate ourselves from God’s will.
So let’s look at some of The Dangers Of Compromise:
1. Erosion of Integrity: Small compromises can accumulate, gradually eroding our integrity. What starts as a minor concession can grow into a habit of bending the rules or truth, cutting corners, or justifying our unethical behavior.
2. Distance from God: Each compromise that contradicts our faith distances us from His heart. It creates a gap between who we are and who we are called to be, and we are becoming.
3. Loss of Identity: Compromising on core values can lead to a loss of the real us. We lose our way. We become what we think others expect us to be rather than who God has called us to be.
My friends, if we want to change from our old patterns of life, we need to honest with ourselves. We need to ask God to help us resist temptation and for Him to give us the wisdom to recognize when compromise is creeping in over and over…and it’s on repeat. Let’s not let ourselves fall through the cracks of life as we saw on the picture of the hourglass.
1. Erosion of Integrity: Small compromises can accumulate, gradually eroding our integrity. What starts as a minor concession can grow into a habit of bending the rules or truth, cutting corners, or justifying our unethical behavior.
2. Distance from God: Each compromise that contradicts our faith distances us from His heart. It creates a gap between who we are and who we are called to be, and we are becoming.
3. Loss of Identity: Compromising on core values can lead to a loss of the real us. We lose our way. We become what we think others expect us to be rather than who God has called us to be.
My friends, if we want to change from our old patterns of life, we need to honest with ourselves. We need to ask God to help us resist temptation and for Him to give us the wisdom to recognize when compromise is creeping in over and over…and it’s on repeat. Let’s not let ourselves fall through the cracks of life as we saw on the picture of the hourglass.
Let’s continue our conversation next week.
