by Shane Idleman

Alaskan hunters reveal a gruesome, but telling lesson. Eskimos often kill wolves by dipping a razor sharp knife in blood, allowing it to freeze to the blade. The hunter then buries the handle in the snow with the blade sticking up. Enticed by the scent of blood, the unsuspecting wolf licks the blade. With the taste of its own blood, and the numbing effect of freezing temperatures, the wolf licks faster, unaware that he is slowly killing himself.

In the same way, the enemy desensitizes many of us with compromise. Within time, we, like the wolf, don’t realize that we are dying; dying spiritually. The once obvious “rights and wrongs” have been coated with layers of appealing cultural relativism, and compromise. I’ve witnessed soft porn on Christian websites, questionable movie clips shown during PowerPoint sermons, and Christian youth leaders talk about their favorite sexually charged movie—all under the guise of “relating” to the culture.

We do need to “reach people where they are” in our postmodern culture, Jesus did this masterfully; however, compromise often sends a mixed message when the messenger does not truly reflect the message. The President wouldn’t send Elmo to express his sympathy for a family who lost a loved one in combat. In the same way, we shouldn’t diminish the gospel by compromising the message. As another example, a Christian organization recently used a 30-foot tall, inflated sexual organ to promote a conference educating people about the dangers of pornography. As yet another example, I recently heard about a stripper who became a Christian. She witnessed about Christ while she stripped. While the intentions of the aforementioned might be good, their actions send a very mixed message. I Timothy 4:12 exhorts us to be examples of purity and decency.

I’m not writing this as if I have overcome all the challenges associated with being a Christian—nor do I want to approach this topic with a “holier than you” attitude, but to not be open and honest about this critical issue would be unwise and unbiblical. Before asking if an event, website, promotional idea, or advertisement is “culturally relevant,” we should ask does it glorify Christ? Is it consistent with Christian character? Will it send the right message? Will it cause others to stumble? God wants us to reach out to our community, but not if we compromise when we reach.

Most people are looking for authenticity; even they understand that a compromised life sends a compromised message. A.W. Tozer rightly noted, “Where does Christianity destroy itself in a given generation? It destroys itself by not living in the light, by professing a truth it does not obey.” W. Graham Scroggie adds, “Light and darkness, right and wrong, good and evil, truth and error are incompatibles; when they compromise it is the light, the right, the good, and the truth that are damaged.”

Why so little power and passion in the church today? When truth and spirit-led ministry leave, the church reflects the culture rather than the gospel, and compromise often follows. The church, in an attempt to relate to society, has so popularized the ministry that it’s hard to distinguish the church from the world. In America, we have become a church that is bored with holiness, but who enjoys compromise. We spend very little time with God in prayer and reflection, and humility and brokenness are all but forgotten qualities. As a result, the Holy Spirit is not guiding us; Hollywood is. Granted, there are many Christian leaders, and churches, who are doing an exceptional job (including many in the Antelope Valley), but, as a whole, we have lost our moral compass and have drifted off course. The church should not reflect or imitate the world, but lovingly challenge it while living a life that reflects the message.

Cancer begins with a single cell. In time, this tiny cell consumes the life of the body. The full-blown moral crisis that we are experiencing today began with small compromises that were left unchallenged and unchecked. We would do well to heed God’s principles: Times change, but His standards do not.

 

Editor’s Note:

Shane Idleman is a fairly new discovery for me.  We’ve bantered back and forth a few times, and every time we talk, I like him even more.  He’s got that bravehearted grit, that passion for good old-fashioned Biblical living.  Why is it suddenly considered “refreshing” to see a leader in Christianity that says, “God says it, so I believe it”? Thank you, Shane, for “believing it” and for proclaiming it from the rooftops!  I like this guy and I like the stuff he’s dishing out.  To learn a little bit more about Shane’s many books and his impacting ministry, check out www.ShaneIdleman.com. 

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