Did you ever stop and contemplate about something in your life and wonder, “How did I ever get to this place?”  If you have, you are not alone. Almost everyone has wondered this at some point in life.

The word compromise is one of those action verbs that can be both good and bad, depending on the circumstances.  

We all know that politicians compromise in political campaigns.  Every good marriage will have compromise present.  Roommates sharing a college dorm room must compromise on issues from time to time.

Exactly when is compromise tolerable, allowable, or acceptable?  When is compromise down right unacceptable, undesirable, and unsatisfactory?

Not everything is a shade of grey.  Some issues are either black or white.

At what point do we speak up?

Compromising on what we would like to have for dinner, and compromising on faith/moral issues are not equal.  Our world is becoming “tolerant” of everything because everyone is “offended.”  Christians are falling in this same “tolerant” category on foundational beliefs.

We must be aware of what is happening in our society.  Being tolerant of everyone’s political and religious “feelings” is creating a position within ourselves that is not optimal.  Being tolerant (compromising) is not standing up for what we believe.   When we hear or see something on the news that we know is not right and we reason it away, we are becoming tolerant of sub-standard beliefs.

It takes nothing to join the crowd.  It takes everything to stand alone.
Hans F. Hanson

One definition of the word compromise used as a noun is an endangering, especially of reputation; exposure to danger, suspicion, etc. Compromise used as a verb means to expose or make vulnerable to danger, suspicion, scandal, etc;

Compromise can lead us down a path that we would not choose if we could see the outcome of our compromise before our decision was made to actually compromise our beliefs and standards.

I am a very visual person and I see compromise as this picture.  If you can, imagine a compass type dial that is on 12:00.  If you turn the dial to 12:01, it is not that far from 12:00.  However, if the line marking 12:00 and 12:01 were extended a far distance from the point of origination, in the distance, you could see how far off the two lines actually become.

This is the place that our country has come to because of our small compromises on huge principles.  The Christians in our country have compromised on many important foundational biblical principles.  To name a few:  couples living together before marriage, singles having babies with partners they are not married to, and the killing of our unborn babies.  It is no wonder that we have just made same-sex marriage legal in all fifty states.  All of these small compromises along the way have helped to create the break down of the family unit.

It wasn’t long ago, three decades or so, that the “family unit” meant a father, a mother, and children.  The dad went to work to support the family while the mom stayed home and NURTURED the children.  Because this “unit” has become so many different entities now, our families are not as strong as they used to be.

The breakdown of the family unit means the breakdown of society which is the beginning of the fall of our country.

A blog post on compromise may not be a very popular one, but if it makes us stop and think about our actions, it is worth writing.  What compromises are we making with our children?  What are we compromising in our marriages?  Are they good compromises or will we later regret the compromise?  What compromises are we making daily in our work places?  What compromise is the church that we attend making? Our churches today make so many compromises on all of the issues to stay “politically correct” and sociable that it is hard for the world to see any difference “inside” the church as “outside” the church.  What mixed messages are we sending?

My husband’s favorite movie is Fiddler on the Roof.  The Jewish father had three daughters.  The oldest daughter did not want to marry the old butcher that the match maker had chosen for her.  She talked her dad into allowing her to marry the young seamster.   The second daughter wanted to marry a revolutionist who enjoyed reading books on radical new ideas of socialism and government structures.  The father agreed to this marriage conditionally.  The daughter promised to be married under a tent with a Rabbi officiating.

When it came to the third daughter, she wanted to marry a young man outside the Jewish faith.  The father revolted.  He would not give his blessing, and the daughter was shunned.  There was no more compromise. His heart was breaking over the decision of his daughter, but he refused to compromise regarding his faith.  He said, “If I bend anymore, I will break.” His previous compromises were based on traditions of men, but the last one was based on a faith principle and he could compromise no more!

Our country is where it is today because of all of the small decisions (or lack thereof) of individuals.  When we do and say nothing, we are in essence “tolerating” and not caring enough to speak out.  America is called the “sleeping giant” because it appears that we are sleeping and not taking care of important matters at hand. One day we will realize (too late) that our compromises took us too far down the road to return.

We are America.  We are the sleeping giant.   We can make a difference!

When does your compromise end?  At what point can you compromise no more?  At what point do you say, “Enough is enough?”