by Barbara Latta
Compromise. It’s one enemy we all face at some point in our
lives.
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The enemy of compromise
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People break their word, fudge a little on taxes, don’t tell
the complete truth or go along with the latest craze, even if that craze is destructive,
because it’s the cool thing to do. And compromise can go further. It can lead
to crime and immorality and start a never-ending spiral of disintegration in
life.
Four men from long ago named Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah
faced the choice of compromise.
They were young Jewish men who were taken captive by King
Nebuchadnezzar when he besieged Jerusalem. These males could have been as young
as teenagers when they were taken from their home and families. Their parents
may have even been killed. Nebuchadnezzar chose youths in whom was no
defect, who were good-looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom,
endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had the ability in
serving in the king’s court (Daniel 1:4 NASB).
The king wanted the best of the lot to serve him. He was
ruling the entire known world at that time. He ordered the chief of his officials
to “teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans”. The goal was to
get the Hebrew culture out of them and indoctrinate these young men into the
ways of Babylon. They were given the Babylonian names of Belteshazzar,
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Over time the king promoted them to areas of
administration over his kingdom.
The king’s ego got the best of him and he created an image
of himself made of gold. Every person in the province was commanded to bow and
worship the statue when certain music was heard.
Daniel is not present in this story, but his three friends
refused to bow to the image of gold and king threw them into a fiery furnace. They
had resolved in their hearts they would not sway from their faith in the one
true God, even though they were surrounded by an idol worshipping culture and
had been taught all its ways.
Their spirit of excellence and faith kept them from
compromise because they made the decision at the beginning of their captivity
that they would not become like those around them.
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God is still God and His mighty power will be shown.
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We sometimes miss the cruelty of their situation. They were
taken from what was familiar, given food to eat that was against their beliefs,
and they were made eunuchs. This means they were castrated. There was no hope
of them ever having marriage and a family. It would feel life was over.
But they had a strong faith in God and they resolved to not
compromise.
The world has not changed in its anti-god spirit since the
beginning of time. Satan’s greatest weapon is doubt, unbelief and compromise.
If he can’t get us to totally reject God, he tempts us with compromise because he
twists that lie until it doesn’t seem so bad.
But compromise leads to decisions that can cause death in emotions, relationships, finances and spiritual death.
We are faced today with social media, politics, the entertainment
industry, advertising and the opinions of other people. All these elements vie
for our attention and try to sway us to their way of thinking with the promise
of acceptance. If we don’t resolve in our hearts what we will stand for, we are
bait for the influence of the world that will draw us away from godly decisions.
And isn’t this the goal? To indoctrinate an anti-god system into schools and
government, the same way the Chaldeans were doing?
Daniel, Hananiah, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego didn’t
compromise. And, yes, they paid a price. Daniel was later thrown into a den of
lions and the other three were thrown into a fire. God preserved them and
showed His mighty power to King Nebuchadnezzar. But they had decided that even
if they were not saved from the physical death they faced, they were still not
going to compromise.
Our decisions are the same. Standing strong will bring
opposition and persecution. We may not always be rescued in the way we want,
but we know that God is still God and His mighty power will be shown.
These Hebrew men are examples to us today of how having an
excellent spirit within us that is free of
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Babylonian culture enticed compromise
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compromise will keep us strong when
we face tribulation. In America, we have not faced what they experienced, but
there are thousands world-wide who have. Christians are persecuted all over the
world because they refuse to bow to compromise and deny their faith. Many are
killed.
But Americans are faced with threats and legislation we have
never experienced before. Compromise abounds in the education and political
system that fights against the freedom to pray, preach and read the Bible in
public places. The slimy fingers of compromise have slithered into the pulpit of
some churches, and pastors refuse to preach the true gospel for fear of losing church
members, offerings and tax statuses.
As individuals, we must decide where we stand. I must ask
myself if I will follow in the footsteps of four faithful Hebrew men who
refused to give in even when death faced them. I hope I can be as strong as
they were with whatever I am challenged with.
But the only weapon any of us have against the enemy of
compromise is the Word of God. We can’t be strong without His food,
fellowshipping with Him and hearing His instructions.
Compromise is an enemy we all face and we must decide how to
handle it.
Please feel free to join the conversation and share your
thoughts.
