Compromise costs

Readings:

Genesis 16

Genesis 17

Genesis 18

Genesis 16:5 NLT
Then Sarai said to Abram, “This is all your fault! I put my servant into your arms, but now that she’s pregnant she treats me with contempt. The Lord will show who’s wrong—you or me!”

This is one of those,  “Bro, you CANNOT do that” kind of moments where us married guys would look at each other and shake our heads. It’s like when your wife says she’s “Fine” or says “You go right ahead and do that”. If the alarm bells aren’t going off in your head when your wife comes to you with this “grand idea” of hers,  have you even met a woman before? Even middle school boys can probably sniff this out as a trap,  right?

But compromise happens when we want something on our own time and not in God’s time. And with compromise,  there is always consequence that will steal from us more than it is worth. This is what “sin” is — it is compromise,  it is missing the mark. It isn’t some checkbox of rules we do or do not follow — sin is cheating ourselves out of what is best.

And we can come up with all kinds of self justification in the moment of challenge — but looking back, it’s easier to see our foolishness clearly. So how can we be better at 20/20 Now vision instead of 20/20 hindsight?

Listen and learn from wisdom,  and don’t insist on proving foolishness to yourself the hard way.

Matthew 13:12 NLT
To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.

And we may look at this foolish decision by Abraham, but how many times have we not seen our own log?

How many times have we let someone lead us into a foolish decision because it just wasn’t worth the argument and because there was something in it for us?

We shouldn’t be so quick to judge Abraham here, because haven’t we been foolish and caved to peer pressure ourselves — to the enticement of what looks petty to the eyes, to the temptation of what might feel good to touch,  to the dangers of poison that might taste good on the tongue?

Lord,  help us to not only see the foolishness of others, to not only see our own foolishness in hindsight, but to see and understand our need for you to walk with us as our guide and our teacher. Teach us the value of walking with you uncompromising and upright. Amen.