06/24/2026
The Consequences of Compromise
I think it’s fair to say that often we act or react to certain situations in our life without giving any thought to the consequences in the aftermath. Teenagers allow their emotions and desires to overcome common sense ending up in situations that they are not ready to handle. Individuals with addiction issues hate themselves and their lifestyles no matter what method they choose to use. Yet repeatedly, they are willing to do anything to get to that next high. All they want is to dull the pain of their failures and self-hatred. Then the cycle replays repeatedly.
Even as Christians, we fail to realize that often we decide to compromise in our choices because it’s something we deem important. We make excuses and validate our decisions, while saying that “The Lord will understand.” In fact, often we find ways that appeal to our minds saying, “This is good, I can witness here!” Yet, we fail to acknowledge that there is absolutely no eternal worth in this particular activity. We have decided that our way is best and justified our decisions as if we are God.
Sin always has consequences. Sometimes they are small. Other times the result of our choice or even a decision made by someone else becomes life-altering events. An example is a young woman paralyzed in his early twenties. She was drunk and dove headfirst into the water altering her life forever. Or the young man high on drugs who plowed into a car killing an entire family while he was left with the knowledge, he was responsible for their deaths. While these actions affect others, there are some that effect our relationship with the Lord.
The bottom line is sin, your sin, my sin; everyone’s sin brings about a division between us and the Lord. Adam sinned, and the outcome was being driven out of the place he called home. Nothing he could say or do would allow him to enter back into Eden again. He went from a place of perfection to a place of shame. King Saul was rejected by the Lord for his rebellion and disobedience. David’s sin with Bathsheba resulting in the death of Uriah and an innocent child.
Two instances in the Word that resulted in instant death. Nadab and Abihu, Aaron’s two sons, offered strange fire before the presence of the Lord. The result was death. Why? Because we need to realize that the Lord is holy and righteous. We can’t just throw something together and expect Him to accept it just because it seemed right to us. We have to recognize that He is God and we are not.
Another example is Saul. Here is a man travel on the road to Damascus with the authority to arrest every individual who was serving the Lord. He honestly believed that he was doing the right thing by his actions. At least until He encountered a blinding light with the voice of the Lord asking him “Saul, why are you persecuting Me.” Saul experienced total blindness until Ananias came to pray over him. Saul became the Apostle Paul and his life completely changed. The persecutor became the preacher willing to suffer prison, and persecution for the One he now called his Savior. Yet, he is also a man who remembered where he came from and shared. In fact, his shared in I Corinthians 15: “I am the least of these.” Even though he had been forgiven, he remembered his earlier actions toward the church.
As Christians, we cannot afford to compromise in our walk with the Lord. As His children, when we made that commitment to follow after Him, it was and is a vow not taken lightly. He is holy, righteous, and most of all forgiving. Yet, even as merciful as He is there are lines we cannot cross. To do so, invites consequences we honestly do not want to take place in our life.
I pray that you take time to examine your life, actions, and attitudes. Ask the Lord to minister to your heart and allow you to see your life as He sees it. He is calling us to be a people after His own heart walking the path He has placed before us.
