A Compromise Harvest

We are finishing Judges, a book about the mess that was Israel. Continually worshipping the gods of the peoples around and within their borders. We saw this start in Joshua with them not removing all of the pagan peoples from their land. Amazing how compromise can bite you isn't it? They fell into crud-on-your-face sin (obvious). But that started by little compromises. And Israel reaped the horrors of their sin. Surely their sin found them out.

How about us? I have a sin that I seem to have a lot of trouble with. I want to make my time with God the priority of my day. Jesus said that my relationship with Him is the one thing needful (Luke 10:42). But I just don't get up in the dang morning (like my blameshifting? - it is all the early morning's fault, it just comes too early!). I would like to get up at 6 every morning to spend time with God. Every other relationship is dependent on this relationship. If I spend time with God, I will have fresh grace to share. And if I don't, then I won't.

But my compromises start the night before. When it says 10 I say get me another cookie and something to do. Time to start that philosophy paper that I have known about for 2 months and is due tomorrow. But I should be disciplined in going to bed. I know, you think this is corny. But this is quite possibly the biggest struggle that I face every day. I'm not saying I don't sin in other ways, God knows I do. But this is so centrally important and I seem to be really good at failing. But it is from compromise. I plant an undisciplined seed, and I reap a harvest of sinful laziness.

Have you ever read Romans 7? Paul kind of sounds like this about something he is struggling with. So I am going to finish by quoting him: "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin" (vs. 24,25). Someday we'll be free from sin always if we hold fast to Jesus.