Have you ever heard the expression “if you give them an inch they will take a mile”? I am sure you have and it happens to be the phrase that illustrates what I wanted to talk about today.
You see, the very expression “give an inch” implies from the outset that you gave in or you gave up something. But, in actuality, what you did was compromise.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Compromise in a relationship is critical for it to last but remember, we don’t agree with our spouse or even our friends all the time. I am sure you have even “agreed to disagree” and maintained the relationship from there. I think that good debate is healthy and promotes independent thinking which is one of the keys to long lasting friendships.
However, its that compromise in important areas of our lives that I am focusing on today.
I remember reading a book a few years ago by Dr. David Jeremiah called, The Handwriting on the Wall which talked about Daniel, who, while being held captive in Babylon for 70 years, never compromised his faith in God no matter what his circumstances ended up to being and this included facing sure death in the lions den.
His consistency was astounding and a model for all of us to follow. However, Dr. Jeremiah made a point that I wanted to illustrate to you which was simply that it takes guts…real guts, to say no to a terrible situation, even with God on your side.
Daniel was resolute in his faith while in Babylon. For you and I, no matter where we are in life, we do not “have to bend the rules to be blessed of God. Our success is NOT dependent upon our compromise”. Our job is to trust and believe that He will take care of us because he has told us so.
From the very beginning in the Bible, we see compromises with very poor results:
Adam: he fell right in line with Eve’s sin by compromising and eating the forbidden fruit.
Sarah :(Abrahams wife) her lack of faith in God caused her to compromise and send her husband Abraham to Hagar, her servant, who then gave birth to Ishmael. Life in the Middle East will never be the same.
Do you remember Esau who compromised his birthright because he was hungry?
King David: he was the man after Gods own heart, BUT, he compromised Gods morality by sleeping with Bathsheba and then killing her husband Uriah.
The list goes on and on with Solomon, Judas and Ahaz who all compromised something significant in their lives and it cost them.
Guys, think about this…all they would have had to do was to say NO…and then take a stand on faith and on what God promised them. After that, God is in charge of the situation.
I want to finish this post with a story Dr. Jeremiah shared in his book about a verbal exchange in a high school class between some students and a professor who was an athiest.
The professor stood at the lectern and began his lecture by saying, “will all of you who believe the myths of the Bible please stand.” Several stood.
Then he added, “now this semester I am going to free you from this religious Bible nonsense. I have read the Bible, and it is certainly written by a bunch of mixed up men.”
One young Daniel stood up and said, “Sir, the Bible is God’s letter to Christians, and if you are confused it’s because you are reading someone else’s mail.”
Guys, I pray that all of us can stand firm in our faith and NOT compromise in the face any adversity against you. You already know this, but adversity will continue to come. That is the way life goes.
I can also tell you with certainty that you are going to be in circumstances where you will be asked to “give an inch”. And after this blog, now you know why an inch matters. As Christians, it’s the difference between a life spent with God in Eternity or the alternative…
It is that simple and you get to make the choice…
My advice to you, be like Daniel…don’t compromise…
Until next time Guys…
Jeremiah, David. 2020. The Handwriting on the Wall: Secrets from the Prohecies of Daniel. Thomas Nelson Publishers.
