Though None Go With Me . . .

“Do not let us mistake necessary evils for good.”
― C.S. Lewis

It seems like more and more often, within the church, we are looking at what are “necessary evils” and calling them “good”. Sometimes, we compromise and justify our choices and actions with the argument that we are choosing the lesser of two evils . . . presented with two (or more choices), none of them great, some of them downright awful, we choose the one that is the least harmful. Sometimes, unfortunately, that cannot be avoided. But it seems that, more often than not, we cannot even refer to our choices as a compromise. We are not acknowledging the reality of the situation and our justifications but instead, are diving in head first, gleefully participating in all that goes along with the justification of sin.

Make no mistake. Wrong is wrong. And standing up to and speaking out against one wrong, doesn’t justify or moralize another. It doesn’t excuse, give permission, or mean that we are accepting, promoting, or buying into another wrong. It just says that we have decided that following Jesus means we’re uncompromising on all fronts, and that standing up to wrong is going to often be a lonely place in which to be found, but at the end of it all, we live on this earth for the briefest of times but will answer for our choices eternally.

There is an old saying, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” I’d go so far as to say, “The road to hell is paved with small, seemingly innocuous compromises.”

Compromise has brought us to a dangerous and destructive place within the church and throughout our nation and our world. Failure to recognize and bring wrong actions, words, and behaviors to light . . . failure to refuse to compromise . . . idolizing and placing things of the world in positions in which they were never meant to be has done harm to both our witness and our walk with Christ.

If it . . . be it a person, be it words, be it actions , or be it beliefs . . . even when it is someone or something seemingly “on our side” . . . doesn’t line up with God’s word, then we must unwaveringly stand against it. Can we be gracious? Absolutely. Can we be loving? Yes, and we should. But we must remain uncompromising in standing for right and selflessness in a world and a culture that stand for anything and everything but.

“Because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man – and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.” Romans 1:21-25

There is an old hymn of which we know little of the its origins, but the words have had a lasting impact on Christians for decades . . . I Have Decided to Follow Jesus . . . and the stanza that always stands out to me is as follows

Though none go with me, still I will follow;
Though none go with me, still I will follow;
Though none go with me, still I will follow;
No turning back, no turning back.

Are we willing to go where even other Christians refuse to go? Are we willing to remain uncompromising in the face of unrelenting compromise? It’s something I ponder and pray about daily. That God would grant me the strength and courage to stand on the convictions of His word even if I stand alone.

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