Compromise

Compromise


Most of us in here know about compromise. According to the dictionary one of the meanings is:  a settlement of differences by arbitration or by consent reached by mutual concessions. Many of us have dealt with a car dealer or some similar person to reach an agreement of some type.
Here is a good example of compromise. When we find a car we want, a process starts where we try to get the price to where both parties agree. As the buyer we want the dealer to take what we will pay, and the dealer tries to get the most he can for the vehicle. If a compromise can't be reached then there is no deal. We face compromises everyday of our lives. We settle for what someone offers, even though it isn't what we really want. But sometimes it swings our way and we get more than we wanted.

People try to compromise because we want things our way, its part of our nature. It doesn't have to be exactly what we want because we are flexible, and we expect others to be flexible also.
Probably where we compromise the most as Christians is in our relationship with God. Most of us are more committed to marriage relationships or our jobs more than we are to God.

We can learn a lesson from the scriptures found in Exodus.

Exodus 8:25-32
25 And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land. 26 And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us? 27 We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the LORD our God, as he shall command us. 28 And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: intreat for me. 29 And Moses said, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will intreat the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, to morrow: but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD. 30 And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the LORD. 31 And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one. 32 And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.

Exodus 10:8-11
8 And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh: and he said unto them, Go, serve the LORD your God: but who are they that shall go? 9 And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the LORD. 10 And he said unto them, Let the LORD be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones: look to it; for evil is before you. 11 Not so: go now ye that are men, and serve the LORD; for that ye did desire. And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence.

When Moses went to Pharaoh, He was sent by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, to a land that God had promised. God sent word through Moses of what He wanted and the demand was simple, "Let my people go". We all know of the plagues that were sent when Pharaoh refused to obey God, and we remember the Passover and what it represents. But overlooked are these few verses where Pharaoh tries to compromise with God.

1. "sacrifice to your God in the land." Pharaoh was not only the ruler to the people, but he was their god. They worshipped him as the lord of the universe. Pharaoh didn't want to let the people go, so he decided that he would allow them to worship God in the land of Goshen in front of the Egyptians. He would still have kept control of the people and even their worship of God. Many of the people that were slaves to the Egyptians still held onto their beliefs, but at the cost of remaining under control of Pharaoh. It showed that he was in control, even of their gods.
Today many Christians still worship God, but do it in the world. They want to serve God, but they let the things of this world interfere and dictate when and where they worship God. Its not as obvious as with Pharaoh, but it is still there. They want to compromise with God about their worship and their service. They want to remain in the world, and worship God while still being a part of the world. As Christians we are to be separate from the things of the world. We will still be in the world, but not a part of it. Many of the things of the world conflict with Christianity and the word of God. But a worldly Christian will compromise his belief, in the word of God, to accept the things of the world. Why? because they are still living in the world and trying to fit Christianity into it.

2. "only ye shall not go very far away: intreat for me." His second compromise was that the people could go, but not go very far away. He would give them some freedom but not much. He still wanted them under his eye, and control. He wanted the people to stay within his reach.

3. “go now ye that are men, and serve the LORD;” Pharaoh tried to specify who would be able to go to serve the Lord. Moses told Pharaoh that everyone would go, taking their flocks with them. Pharaoh wanted to hold a majority of the people in the land to reassure that the others would come back. In today’s terms we call it “holding hostages”.

Pharaoh tried to compromise with God through Moses in order to remain in control of the situation that had formed in his lands. That’s what the world wants today from Christians, “You can be a Christian but…you have to conform to the world. In order to conform you must compromise.

God is not a God of compromise, and He doesn’t want us to be a people of Compromise.