The Danger of Compromise
God hates compromises in our faith.
Why does God hate compromise? Because if you compromise on one thing, it’s not that much further until it’s 2, 3, 4, 5 or more things. Consider, in 1981, Charles Rocket used a particular profanity on Saturday Night Live and was fired the next day. Last year, that same word was heard on over 180 programs without any issues
The same is true in our lives.
In the book UnChristian the Christian Research Group—Barna “found that [in 28] lifestyle activities, born-again Christians were statistically equivalent to those of non-born agains. When asked to identify their activities over the last 30 days, born again believers were just as likely to gamble, visit a pornographic website, take something that didn’t belong to them, consult a psychic, fight or abuse someone, consume enough alcohol to be legally drunk, to use illegal, nonprescription drugs, to lie, to get back at someone, and to have said mean things behind someone else’s back" (emphasis mine).
Statistically, we Christians are no different from the culture.
This all starts in the home with the little choices we make--what to watch, what to listen to, what to read, how to spend our free time, etc. Ask yourself, "What movies do my children see in our DVD collection? What songs are on our mp3 players? What TV shows do they see us watching? What books do they see us reading? How do they see us handling problems that arise in the house? Does it all conform to Scripture or to the culture?"
I have taken some ridicule for the entertainment standards I have set for my family. And, unfortunately, most of that comes from Christians, but I want to have the biblical standard. If my son chooses to leave that standard, it will be his choice. But you can bet he will know what the standard is, and that he will have seen it in action.
So many claiming to be Christian watch TV shows and movies with foul language and inappropriate scenes and don’t think twice about it. Take a big movie like Iron Man 3--which made tons of money--it averages a curse word or the Lord’s name used in vain every 3.6 minutes. (Yes, I did the math!) Meanwhile, the main couple in this movie are doing all sorts of things together without being married and it is treated as normal and acceptable.
Consider now if I preached a sermon in your church for 36 minutes and used 10 curse words (one every 3.6 minutes) to stay on par with Iron Man 3. I am sure the vast majority of the people in church would be outraged. Yet, hey, I would preach that sermon for free. You don't even need to pay $12 a ticket for it, so what’s the difference?
The difference is that we have compromised so much in the area of entertainment that we don’t think twice about it. But, I tell you, if it is condemned in the Bible, and considered wrong in the church, then it is wrong in the movie theater and wrong in your home.
Never forget that the choices you make inside your home are going to affect your legacy in the culture for years to come. Because kids and grandkids remember.
The other day I was talking to someone about being a safe driver and my son blurts out, “Dad, don’t you remember like in 2005 when you almost caused that accident when you changed lanes without looking and that guy was so mad at you…”
“Yeah, I do remember that. Thanks Freddie Flashback for bringing it up!”
Kids don’t forget! They remember what was allowed or not allowed. They remember if you used the Bible to make decisions or you didn’t. They remember if you looked to God for comfort or mindless entertainment. They remember if you looked to God for significance or to your career and achievements. They remember if you looked to God for truth or to Oprah. They remember it all.
Understand, even if you are not a parent or grandparent, the kids and teens around you hear what you talk about, hear about what’s important to you. They see what you value.
What legacy are you leaving for them? A legacy of pursuing Christ-likeness or of conforming to the culture?
