Our men’s group has been studying the book “Model Man” by Larry Stockstill. Chapter two deals with the subject of compromise and shows how costly moral compromise can be. In Judges 13 we see how the parents of Samson were told by an angel of the Lord that their child born to them would deliver Israel from their enemies and was to be a Nazirite from birth. The Nazirites had only three rules they were required to follow. 1. Never touch a grape or drink wine. 2. Never touch a dead body. 3. Never cut your hair.
Samson did follow these rules most of his life, and God used him mightily to deliver Israel. Yet slowly, Samson allowed compromise to seep into his life. In Judges 14 we see him in a vineyard putting his hand into the carcass of a lion to gather honey. What was Samson doing in a vineyard, and why did he touch a dead lion? Breaking the first two rules of a Nazirite made it easy for Samson to break the third rule when he let Delilah cut his hair. The result was his supernatural strength left him and the waiting Philistines whom Delilah worked for gauged out Samson’s eyes. Samson’s compromise cost him dearly, even ending his life prematurely.
Compromise starts very subtly. Samson did not wake up one morning and decide to “sell out” all his moral convictions. Compromise brought the “sell out” over a period of time. The answer to compromise is to first be a person of conviction. To be convinced God’s way is the right way, and choosing to walk in the Spirit, in God’s power every day. As we yield to the Holy Spirit, He provides the power to walk in grace, in integrity and obedience to God. Not compromising our moral convictions will yield benefits not only for us personally, but for generations to come.
