HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 74
page A72
Compromise continued
When I am negotiating for a compromise, how do I know if I’m about to make
a bad bargain?
• 1 S A MU E L 8 :1 9 -2 0 | But the people refused to listen to Samuel’s warning. “Even so, we
still want a king,” they said. “We want to be like the nations around us. Our king will judge
us and lead us into battle.” (See note on page 251.)
The people were willing to lose personal and religious freedoms to win military might.
Compromise is a bad deal when you trade eternal loyalties for temporal ones.
Is bad compromise always trading away something good?
• 2 K I NG S 3 :2 | He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, but not to the same extent as his
father and mother. He at least tore down the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had set up.
• 2 K I NG S 1 5 :3 -4 | [Uzziah] did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, just as his father,
Amaziah, had done. But he did not destroy the pagan shrines, and the people still offered
sacrifices and burned incense there. (See note on page 341.)
Bad compromise is not always just a bad trade; sometimes it is failing to take the action
that you and God know is right. Doing nothing when you know God wants you to do
something is another form of bad compromise.
Are there certain relationships that can more quickly lead me to compromise?
C
• 2 C O R I NT H I A NS 6 :1 4 -1 5 | Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can
righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What
harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner
with an unbeliever? (See note on page 1051.)
HelpFinder
• 2 C H R O NI C L E S 1 8 :1 | Jehoshaphat enjoyed great riches and high esteem, and he made
an alliance with Ahab of Israel.
• E Z R A 4 :1 -2 | The enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were rebuilding
a Temple to the Lord. . . . [They] said, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God.”
• R O MA NS 1 2 :2 | Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform
you into a new person.
Partnership, in business or marriage, is teaming up with another to act as one. God warns
against a partnership in which one loves God and the other doesn’t, for how can these two
different belief systems act as one?
PROMISE FROM GOD
• E PH E S I A NS 6 :1 1 | Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against
all strategies of the devil.
Confession See Forgiveness; Mercy & Grace; Repentance
Conflict See also Adversity; Communication; Criticism; Patience; Peace;
Persecution; Spiritual Warfare; Unity & Teamwork
Grown men stand toe to toe, faces beet red, veins standing out on their necks as
they shout at each other, “I was safe!” “You were out!” “Safe!” “Out!” If a ball player
disagrees with an umpire’s call, a spectacular and entertaining argument sometimes
ensues. Since people have differing opinions on everything from politics to sports
to religion, conflict seems to be a given in human relationships. The Bible does not
hide from the issue of conflict, nor does it condemn all conflict as sinful. From Moses
to David to Jesus to Paul, the Bible’s greatest figures found themselves in conflict
with someone or something. According to the Bible there is nothing inherently wrong
with conflict. Disagreements happen. But the way we are to resolve our conflicts is
extremely important. Conflict can become the catalyst to greater understanding, inti-