Gone Fishing
It was a cool Spring morning when my parents packed our car with fishing poles and bait and decided to take my sister and I on a fishing adventure. It may have been our first time fishing. (If there was another, I don’t remember.) Mom was ready with her camera, and Adessa and I were excited to try this new adventure.
Well, it didn’t take long for the excitement to wear off as we realized that fishing is mostly about waiting. And being quiet. And more waiting. It seemed like an eternity had passed, and all we’d done was get our lines caught in trees, dropped the camera and broke it, and watched our bobbers float on top of the water. BORING.
Then, almost out of nowhere, Adessa saw the most amazing thing through the shallow water: A FISH!
Finally, a fish!
Only the fish didn’t seem interested. He just swam around, totally ignoring the delicious bait on the end of her hook. (I mean, I assume it would be delicious to a fish—I didn’t taste it!)
That’s when she got an idea: maybe if she moved the bait closer to the fish, it would bite. You can imagine what happened next as she leaned in as far as she could, hoping to reach the fish.
She fell into the water.
Next thing you know, my Dad was fishing HER out of the water! (Okay, it was more like yanking her out while yelling at her for falling in.) For sure, fishing was over for that day, and we soon found ourselves in the car, wrapped in a blanket, listening to Adessa explain why she’d gotten so close to the edge.
And that, folks, is why I avoid the edge of anything. Balconies. Cliffs. Even stages. If there’s an edge, I stay a step or two away.
Because I am clumsy.
Falls hurt.
Knowing these two facts, I choose to avoid the edges.
It is also why I try very hard to avoid compromising with sin.
Because when it comes to our spiritual lives, compromise is the edge that causes too many Christians to fall.
It starts off simple enough. We think, “It’s no big deal. It’s just a little thing. Technically, it could be considered a gray area. I’m certainly not going to lose my salvation because I choose to watch this, go here, do that, hang out with this person.”
It’s easy to justify pushing the line just a little bit—-dabbling with sin as long as we don’t go over the line.
So we lean in a little closer toward sin.
Of course, the problem is that if we get away with it for a while, we start to feel comfortable. We’ve gotten away with it so far. Why worry so much about the danger? Before we know it, we’ve let our guard down.
Yet, this is the most dangerous time of all—being comfortable with their compromise and not even questioning whether what they are doing is right or wrong. This is when too many people find themselves falling over the edge. Like our fishing expedition, before they know it, they have fallen and are suffering the consequences of their sin.
Sitting on the sidelines, trying to put their lives back together, they ask, “How did this happen? How did I get here?”
The answer is simple: You got too close to the edge.
That’s why I am a huge believer that, as followers of Christ, we need to avoid compromise at all costs. Don’t play with it. Don’t entertain it. Don’t try to see how much sin you can participate in before you fall, get caught, or experience heartache.
Instead, stay away from compromise.
Cling to the boundaries that God has set up in His Word.
Stay as far away from sin and evil as possible.
Passionately pursue holiness, giving God every opportunity to remove sin from your life and make you into the image of Jesus.
Listen to the convicting voice of the Holy Spirit saying, “Don’t do this.”
Listen to the warning of fellow believers who say, “This is not a good idea—this is dangerous.”
Here’s a good test: If you have to justify why it’s okay—don’t do it.
Avoid compromise at all costs.
Memory Verse: And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27, ESV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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