Compromise… making concessions, changing standards just a bit… this can sometimes be a good thing right? Bending a little to avoid breaking a friendship? Being open minded? Tolerant? Unoffending? All sounding good? But, but, but, what about when it is not? When the line keeps shifting? When we find ourselves continuously bending and bending until we can almost hear the cracking sound? How do we know when to stop moving the line?

A while back, I was reading some stories from the Bible about people who refused to compromise. As I did so, I reflected on my life, and whether I am, or would be willing to take such a stand if the situation calls for it, or if I would wiggle my way out.

You might be familiar with the story of Moses coming before Pharoah repeatedly to deliver God’s message: “Let my people go”. If not from the book of Exodus, then possibly from the movie ‘Prince of Egypt’ and one of the soundtracks, ‘Plagues’. However, although not often mentioned, an interesting aspect to the story is that Pharoah did not always shut Moses down. Compromises were offered, which may have seemed reasonable to Pharoah, and would have at least offered the Israelites some respite from the terrible treatment they were enduring at the hands of Pharoah.

In Exodus 8:25-26, Pharoah called Moses and Aaron and told them to sacrifice to God within the land. Moses said it would not be right. Instead, a journey of three days had to be taken into the wilderness to worship and make sacrifices to God. Moses refused Pharoah’s concession because that was not what God instructed. Partial obedience is still disobedience. Besides, Moses and Pharoah knew that the Egyptians found their sacrifices abominable. As such, there was a chance that the Egyptians would react negatively. Verse 26 states, “the Egyptians detest the sacrifices that we offer to the Lord our God. Look, if we offer our sacrifices here where the Egyptians can see us, they will stone us.” Pharoah must have known that, so why would he even suggest it? Imagine trying to worship God while people are stoning you and how discouraging that would be. This is one of the many reasons why it is not a good idea to negotiate with the devil, he does not play fair.

Eventually Pharoah acquiesced, and in verse 28, said they could go to the wilderness, but “must not go too far away”. See how the enemy operates? Go a short distance for God, but not all the way, definitely don’t go too far for God. Do a little for God, but not too much. Spend a few minutes worshipping and praying to God, but don’t stay too long in His presence.

In the end, even when Moses, on God’s behalf, acquiesced and met His end of the deal, Pharoah, being quite dodgy, continuously reneged on his agreement. In contrast, God, being a faithful God, remained faithful to His Word (Exodus 8:15, 29-32; 9:34-35). However, this is another lesson in not making a deal with the enemy. Unlike God, he has no qualms about being faithless to his word.

The push to compromise continues in Exodus 10:8-11. Here we read that Pharoah said he would allow only the men go and worship God, but there was no way he would allow the children go. “Pharaoh retorted, The Lord will certainly need to be with you if I let you take your little ones!  I can see through your evil plan” (Verse 10). I’m not quite sure what his plan was regarding the women, but my guess is that they would have had to stay back to look after the children. Isn’t it telling how the enemy operates? He wants to stop the future generations from worshipping God, so he allows the men, knowing that if the children don’t follow them and learn to worship God, then when the fathers die, the worship of God will follow suit. Thankfully, Moses did not agree to that, and neither should we. As we strengthen our spirit man by practicing spiritual disciplines such as prayer, fasting, studying and meditating on God’s word, serving, solitude, so should our children. There are age appropriate ways to teach and encourage them to practice these disciplines, but let us not say they are too young, because the truth is that the enemy does not consider them too young when he starts feeding their minds with junk of all sorts.

Back to the story. Pharoah is not yet done. Thanks to his refusal to let God’s people go, Moses is forced to unleash some more plagues. After the plague of darkness, he finally called for Moses. ““Go and worship the Lord,” he said. “But leave your flocks and herds here. You may even take your little ones with you.” “No,” Moses said, “you must provide us with animals for sacrifices and burnt offerings to the Lord our God. All our livestock must go with us, too; not a hoof can be left behind. We must choose our sacrifices for the Lord our God from among these animals. And we won’t know how we are to worship the Lord until we get there.” But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart once more, and he would not let them go.” (Exodus 10: 24-27). Was Moses being unnecessarily stubborn, or was there a reason for his refusal to compromise? Indeed there was a reason. Moses knew the importance of worshipping God with our all. With our hearts as well as our resources. This highlights the sacrificial aspect of worship and is certainly something we need to emulate. And again, that was not what God had commanded.

I wonder if sometimes we behave as if we are listening to ‘Pharoah’ and making compromises to suit him? If we agree and are willing to worship and serve God, but within certain limits? Or excluding some aspects of our lives? Do we justify it by saying ‘just this once’, or ‘this is the last time’, or by minimising our actions and the wrong we have done? I know I am certainly guilty of that sometimes. May God help us all to remember that this is what He requires, ““Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-9, NLT).

God is asking us to immerse ourselves in Him and in His Word. Let us not stop at dipping a toe or a foot or an arm, rather let the entirety of our beings be plunged into God, into His worship and service, without looking back (Luke 9:62). An important thing to note about all the compromises Pharoah offered was that every single one of them would have required the children of Israel to return to slavery again. However God had a far better plan than temporary respite from slavery. He wanted to permanently end their slavery. Praise God that He always has better plans for us than we can even ask or imagine!

Fast forward to many years later, and we have another powerful story of four men who refused to compromise: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. They were expatriates in Babylon, and resolved that they “would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank” (Daniel 1:8). And they stuck to their resolve! Imagine the temptation of a feast of delicious delicacies made by the finest chefs and with the finest ingredients. But they chose to eat vegetables and water rather than compromising.

Even when the stakes were higher, and it was literally a matter of life and death, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah did not give in. In fact, they gave King Nebuchadnezzar quite a bold response and declaration of their stand, “Your threat means nothing to us. If you throw us in the fire, the God we serve can rescue us from your roaring furnace and anything else you might cook up, O king. But even if he doesn’t, it wouldn’t make a bit of difference, O king. We still wouldn’t serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up” (Daniel 3:16-18, MSG). Other translations say “we don’t need to defend ourselves regarding this issue”.

This is a key lesson I learnt from them. You might have heard the saying, “if you dine with the devil, use a long spoon.” I would go so far as to say, we should not dine with him at all. We should not even seat at the same table, talk less of using a long spoon. There is really no need to bother explaining to the devil or whoever he is using to get you to compromise, because then you are setting yourself up for negotiation. A simple ‘no’ can be enough. As Matthew 5:37 (NIV) says “All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” Proverbs 26:1 CEV notes that “expecting snow in summer and rain in the dry season makes more sense than honouring a fool.” Why honour foolish opinions with an argument? Because if the Word of God is wisdom, then anything contrary to it is foolishness.

When you think about it, why do we bother explaining to the devil? He does not need it, and he isn’t exactly going to change his stance. So what’s the point? We know we are saying no because God said so, and we have that conviction from God’s word for ourselves, which is what matters. As such, unless we want and are ready for a “did God really say…” style argument, as long as we have the conviction from the word of God that we should not do something, then that should suffice. As I once heard somewhere, “No is a complete sentence”. Besides, that “did God really say” business did not quite work for Eve, did it? (Genesis 3). If at all we have to respond, then the best way to do so is to emulate Jesus way and say, “It is written…”

I love that Daniel continued to maintain his stand throughout his life. In Daniel 6, we learn that Daniel did not compromise his prayer life either (and that was likely one of the key ingredients that enabled him to stand successfully for so long). Imagine living a life where people search and search and cannot find even the tiniest bit of mud to throw at you that will stick? Imagine your praying to God being the only thing people can use to criticise you? What an example! And God honoured him and his friends over and over again, from granting them favour in the eyes of the chief official, to keeping them fresher and better looking than everyone else despite their limited diet, to personally coming down to be with them in the fiery furnace and of course rescuing them, and to sending an angel to shut the mouth of lions (Daniel 1, 3, 6).

Knowing that God is faithful to those who take a stand for Him, why do we compromise, even when whatever we are doing is clearly bad for us? A whole host of reasons can lead us to compromise. These include impatience; failure to fully trust that God can deliver us out of any situation, or that He can take care of us no matter what happens, whether it means losing our job or source of income; putting man before God and consequently man’s opinions before God’s; redefining God to suit us; abusing grace; focusing only on life now rather than eternity.

Sometimes we may think that we have gotten away with our little compromise, but the truth is, we probably haven’t. Sometimes the wrong action may lead to a seemingly right result and we may appear successful. It may even seem like God is answering our prayers, but is He pleased? Remember the story of Moses striking the rock instead of talking to it (Numbers 20). He got the answer, the water came out, but at what cost?

Knowing all this therefore, how can we ensure that we maintain our stand for God, without shifting a little to the left or to the right? I’ve touched on a few already, but I will emphasise them again, and a few more: Prayer, the study of God’s word, leading and encouraging our children to do the same, asking God for wisdom and discernment and more importantly, utilising it. In addition, the importance of having a group of supportive friends who share our faith, who can hold us accountable, who we can stand together with cannot be overestimated. Daniel had Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, Moses had Aaron. It can be very difficult, albeit not impossible, to take a stand alone for God. If you are ever in such a situation, my heart goes out to you. My encouragement to you is that God is with you always, and He has promised that He will never leave you nor forsake you, so you are never alone (Matthew 28:20, Hebrews 13:5). Not only that, God is the Lord of Hosts, Yahweh Sabaoth, so not only are you not alone, you have the Hosts of Heaven by your side! (Psalm 148:2, Daniel 7:10, 2 Kings 6:16-17).

Wisdom and discernment are particularly important because there are times when we might not even realise we are putting man before God. We may genuinely just want to be tolerant and open-minded, but as G.K. Chesterton notes, “Do not be so open-minded that your brains fall out.” When walking on a slippery slope, one has to be extremely careful… the danger of falling lurks with every step, in every corner, at every turn. In whatever we do, it is important to remember that our standard should always be the Bible, not popular opinion, not what our friends and family may think, not what politicians think, but the Bible.

This does not mean we should be close-minded and unwilling to listen and learn from others, far from it. Living in an echo chamber will not help us or those around us. This is also different from compromise in navigating relationships with people, as give and take is vital in relationships. What it means is that it is crucial that we lean on the Holy Spirit and the Word of God for wisdom and discernment. Romans 14 is a good guide for us in understanding how to apply discernment in certain situations, and especially staying humble as we do so. We don’t stand in pride but in humility, knowing fully well that it is God that keeps us standing, not our mere willpower. Truly, the best way to take a stand is on our knees, in prayer and as a posture of humility. Because as we stand, there are times when we may feel bruised and battered, times when our knees may feel feeble and faint, when our hearts feel weak and weary. But with God holding us up, we can keep standing. For His power is strongest when we are weak (2 Corinthians 12:9). Also, with God’s favour, we can have additional ‘reinforcements’ that support us as we stand, as in Daniel’s case (Daniel 1:9), whether they be favourable people or favourable policies.

Furthermore, as 2 Timothy 2:14-19 (BSB) notes, “Remind the believers of these things, charging them before God to avoid quarrelling over words, which succeeds only in leading the listeners to ruin. Make every effort to present yourself approved to God, an unashamed workman who accurately handles the word of truth. But avoid irreverent, empty chatter, which will only lead to more ungodliness, and the talk of such men will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have deviated from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already occurred, and they undermine the faith of some. Nevertheless, God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord must turn away from iniquity.”

All the devil needs to enter and wreak havoc is a small hole in the fence. If we give him an inch, he will take a mile, then a hundred miles and more and more, until we take a stand and say no. Although what is even better is when we keep our fences intact in the first instance, when we don’t even shift the line at all. Proverbs 4:23 (NLT) says, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Other translations say watch over your heart, keep it with all diligence, carefully guard your thoughts, be careful how you think.

How do we do this? By setting a watch over our mouth, our eyes, our ears, our hearts (Job 31:1; Psalm 119:37, 141:3; Proverbs 25:28). By praying without ceasing, by staying watchful and sober-minded (alert, reflective, self-disciplined) (1 Thessalonians 5:17, 1 Peter 5:8). By making a decision to give the devil no wiggle room, by not doing even a little bit of that thing we know he is the one suggesting. Proverbs 25:26 CEV says, “When a good person gives in to the wicked, it’s like dumping garbage in a stream of clear water.” The NLT says, “If the godly give in to the wicked, it’s like polluting a fountain or muddying a spring.” May we make every effort to be the beautiful, pure, life-giving fountains God has created us to be, washed and covered with the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ, standing strong and unsoiled because mud-slinging attempts from the evil one cannot land or stick to us.

I pray that as we reflect on this, we will take a stand for God like Moses, Daniel and His friends, trusting that Our Heavenly Father is faithful to keep us and rescue us. May we remain conscious of the fact that only Christ offers solid ground to stand on, and “all other ground is sinking sand”*. I pray that God will help us as we commit to guarding our hearts and setting a watch over our eyes, ears and lips in order to keep standing for God. May we carry our children along as we worship and take a stand for God, ignoring the enemy’s wish to leave them behind. As we do so, may our faithful, loving, trustworthy, true God help us, favour us, and honour our humble stand. Amen.

*From the hymn ‘On Christ The Solid Rock’ written by Edward Mote

And the soundtrack for this post is ‘Stand‘! By John P. Kee

Image source here.