Compromise, Lies and Full Eyes

 
     Compromise has become part of the function of what makes our world operate. There is good compromise, and there is bad compromise. Let's say your child wants some desert, and you tell them that if they eat their greens, then they can have ice cream! "Winning" for both sides is evident. However, I want to talk about spiritual compromise, the lies that get you there and the full eyes it creates.

     To stand in the gap is lonely, and almost always the hardest route to go. But when one resists peer pressure, says no to that temptation, or exposes the lie of the enemy as just that, then there is victory! There are so many choices that we make throughout the day and those choices help define the path of our life. In some of those choices we are placed in an awkward situation or asked to do something that is morally or ethically wrong. We've all been in positions where there is a line between right and wrong. Sometimes we omit information in order to present the facts the way we want, and we put on an innocent face in order to hide the truth. But we must not be willing to lie, mislead or cheat; otherwise we are compromising the principles of Christ.

     2 Corinthians 6:17-18 says, "¹⁷ Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” ¹⁸ And, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." While easier said than done, we have to be careful to not compromise the things of God. He is calling us to set ourselves out of the pack; to resist the peer pressure, to get our eyes on the scriptures not on the images on the computer screen, to have friends over to pray and worship instead of piling in a car to go to the club, and even to say no to the lies the enemy tries to take you out with. I believe I've shared this verse before, 1 Peter 5:8 says, "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." Don't think for one minute that you’re only going to take one hit to get your mind off the pressure of life. The only hit you need is a hit by the Holy Spirit to your soul! The enemy is lieing to you to make you think that you need an escape from life other than Jesus. Don't listen.

     I'm assuming you've heard the saying, "the eyes are the gateway to the soul"; why? When we see something take place, we have a firsthand account of the situation. When we compromise Christ's morals and principles, we fill our eyes with the witness of our indiscretion. We will remember it and be affected by it. You may say, well that's a little extreme Luke! No, what’s extreme is that somewhere along the way we have stopped caring about the standards of God, and started following those of the world. We can't allow our eyes to fill with the compromise and lies that we give in too; our soul will be affected by our decisions.