introduction
Today we are going to look at the issue of compromise. Every day we are faced with decisions to make which place demands on our belief system and may require us to compromise in one way or another. Last week we looked at Daniel and how he rose to a position of power and authority. During his story, we saw several occasions in which he had to make a decision which could have compromised his beliefs if he did what was being asked of him. He stood firm and risked persecution. On all occasions we saw Daniel decide to obey God first and not people.
welcome
Think of a situation when one of your values was threatened or affirmed. See if you can describe what happened and how you felt.
worship
Get someone to bring along some music that you can use in a time of worship. People might want to sing along or just listen.
word
discuss
Think of a time when you were in a position where you felt as if you had a hard choice to make in terms of compromising your faith. Spend a bit of time discussing why you made the decision that you did, and how you felt about it.
The question of compromise often arises for Christians when considering political power. There is an apparent conflict as you can’t have politics without compromise and Christians would argue against compromising their principles. In tackling this apparent dilemma let's look at what the essence of personal and political compromise is all about.
Personal compromise is a question of choices we make based on our sense of morality. For example, as Christians, one of our principles would be that we don’t lie and if we, for whatever reason, cross that moral boundary we have compromised our personal principles.
Joseph was a man who wasn’t willing to compromise his beliefs and integrity.
read
question
What can we learn from this story about the character of Joseph and God?
Political compromise has a different emphasis from personal compromise. It is about living as part of a community and making choices for the benefit of the common good. We make decisions like this all the time. For example, in an evening with your family, you need to decide what you might watch and what you will have for dinner. It is impossible to live as part of a community and not compromise on a daily basis.
application
The answer to this is not to withdraw from society, as God clearly calls us to be a part of it. Instead, play an active role in making sound, value-based decisions that do not compromise your personal morals, but allow room for common goals to be achieved. For example, in your church, you might not like choirs but other members do, so you might decide to have a choir singing once a month. That is a compromise which doesn’t cross any moral boundaries. If, however, someone wanted to start to preach that living together outside marriage was okay and others believed that to be right to ‘keep up with the times’ you might want to make a moral stand.
There are always contentious issues which arise and will require a political decision to be made in aid of the common good. On these occasions, we need to trust our relationship with God to help us make the right choices.
read
question
What guidance do these verses give us when seeking to know how to make a good decision?
discuss
An example of a situation that could arise in a Students’ Union could be that you were asked by your Executive to represent the Gay Society at a regional conference looking at gay rights. How do you think you would deal with this issue?
As we consider our actions, whether in a political environment or on a personal issue with one other person, we should be alert to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and seeking God’s will for that time, looking to honour Him and give the best to those around us.
witness
What are we most passionate about? Is it Jesus, or are there other things that get in the way? This should be a key question for us as we look at how effective our evangelism is. If Jesus is the most important thing for us and the person we are most fired up about, then He will naturally become the topic of conversation for us. And people will see him in our lives as we eagerly seek to be more like him. Challenge each other as to where the passions of your heart lie, and if you need to refocus then spend some time praying with each other about it.
