In praise of compromise?

Jesus said, No-one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other… Matthew 6:24

You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity with God? James 4:4

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common?... 2 Corinthians 6:14

We often think of “compromise” as a largely negative word. It conjures up ideas of weakness, lack of principle, spinelessness. We usually know instinctively what’s right and what’s wrong, so when we fail to live up to it, we are left with a vaguely troubled conscience which we hope will fade with time. And so indeed it may; but deep down we are not really happy. We know we have compromised.

The word itself doesn’t figure in the NIV Bible, but the idea is often found. And in reality it isn’t quite as simple as we might think. In a word, to compromise may sometimes be the right thing to do, not wrong at all. The Bible gives us examples of both right and wrong.

First, when compromise is wrong…

The obvious example, as the Bible verses above make clear, is denying or watering down our allegiance to Jesus. Do you ever find yourself “taking the line of least resistance” or “keeping my head under the parapet” – and then feeling bad about it? That suggests you’ve compromised; pangs of conscience are a pretty clear pointer.

That’s when we need to remember Simon Peter. At the trial of Jesus, he denied three times that he knew him (Matthw 26:69-75): that’s even worse than mere compromise, isn’t it? He lost his head completely, it would seem, even “calling down curses” and swearing “I don’t know the man”. But it didn’t take him long to feel guilty – when the cock crowed, as predicted by Jesus, “he went outside and wept bitterly”. Can you see him?

The story of Peter is wonderfully heartening, for we know from John 21:15-19 that after Jesus was raised from the dead he restored him and even gave him a key role in the life of the infant church. And in Acts 2 we see him – this poor, pathetic, sobbing failure of a man – powerfully preaching the first “Christian” sermon. True, on later occasions he could rather lose his way (Galatians 2:11-21 for example), but there is no suggestion that he sinned himself out of the grace of God.

Is this a reassurance you need today? As long as our regret is heart-felt we can be assured of God’s loving hand upon us. Yes, compromise in this most basic of senses is a serious thing. But it is not unforgivable.

Second, When may compromise be right, indeed necessary and good?

This may be where we find ourselves swimming in rather murky waters. The same Paul we have quoted about “not being yoked together with unbelievers” sounds like an arch compromiser in 1 Corinthians 9, especially verse 22: “I have become all things to all people…”. (That sounds almost like a defence of hypocrisy!) In 2 Corinthians 8 he talks about “food sacrificed to idols”, and whether or not Christians should eat it. Apparently different options are possible for Christians, depending on circumstances. In Romans 14, especially verses 19-23, he is concerned about the need for the mature but sensitive Christian to moderate his or her behaviour for the sake of the less confident believer. Compromise? Well, yes. But surely justified.

Perhaps his key statement is Romans 14:1, about the mistake of  quarrelling over disputable matters”. Ah! – so there are such things as “disputable matters” (what today we might call “grey areas”).

At risk of exaggeration you could say that one of the tragedies of Christian history is that too often we have kept our mouths shut when we should have opened them, for the heart of the gospel is at stake - but then gone tooth and nail at one another over “disputable matters”.

This can apply to matters of doctrine. Does it really matter whether you’re a premillennialist, a postmillennialist or even (gasp!) an amillennialist? Is the exact meaning of “baptism in the Holy Spirit” something to fall out over? Oh yes, be as convinced as you can by all means of the rightness of your view; but aren’t such questions matters for healthy compromise, for respectful discussion, not for tearing one another apart?

The point where things can get decidedly tricky may not be strictly “doctrinal”. What if you have a child you really love, and in their teenage years they come to tell you that they are gay? Do you turn them out of the home? If, in time, they enter a same-sex relationship and invite you to the “wedding”, do you go?

Something less acute but real nonetheless… You’re invited to the office Christmas party and you really would prefer not to go, knowing that the atmosphere will get unpleasant with drunkenness and ugly behaviour. Is it a wrong type of compromise to decide that “at least I can show my face for an hour”? Or would that be an example of mature discipleship?

And what about “assisted dying”? Many Christians instinctively recoil against the idea – but others are more open to it. Is one entirely right and the other entirely wrong?

I could go on; the possible examples are limitless, and not every situation is reflected clearly in the Bible. Given certain possible scenarios, how do I know when I’m “standing firmly for the truth” (no compromise!) and when I’ve tippled over into sheer bigotry (oh no, failed again!)?

Christians in disagreement sometimes get impatient with reasoned discussion: “All I want is a simple answer to a simple question!” they cry. But… what if there is no “simple” answer? What then?

It may seem rather unsatisfactory, but if it teaches us to discuss with one another thoughtfully and respectfully, actually listening to one another rather than talking past one another or shouting each other down, well, that at least is something, isn’t it? Let’s at least learn to disagree agreeably. Or is that asking too much?

Father, my desire is to be rock-solid in my allegiance to Jesus, but also infinitely adaptable when it comes to disputed grey areas. Please help me not only to know the difference, but also to live daily in the light of it! Amen.