Without Compromise, pt. 10: You Decide
When I started a personal Bible study on the book of Ezra several years ago, I wasn’t expecting that I would turn my own study notes into a book about leadership, but that’s what happened (Leadership Ezra, available on Amazon). When that was done, I started a study of Daniel, and never made it past the first chapter before organizing my personal notes into a series of valuable lessons to share with students. As time has gone on, God seems to be prompting me to do more with it, so I have begun the process of turning my notes into short articles, that will then become the basis for chapters in a book (current working title: “Without Compromise: Leading with integrity in the face of pressure”).
The underlying basis of the story is this: In the time and world of Daniel, Israel and the capital city of Jerusalem were invaded and captured. In that process, the most gifted and talented young men were given a “scholarship” [albeit, against their will] to attend the most elite private school in the known world, one designed to prepare leaders & experts (Daniel 1:3). Upon graduation, Daniel and his friends were at the top of the class and were hired into executive leadership positions right out of school (Daniel 1:17-20). But here’s an incredibly significant observation: In between . . . they refused to compromise their faith, values, and integrity.
Now, it’s time for you to decide if you will make the same commitment!
The Bible provides us with a great example of this in the book of Joshua, in chapter 24, when Joshua and the people had finished all their battles in conquering the land of Canaan, which was followed by dividing it up among the tribes. Joshua had lived through the escape from slavery in Egypt, the establishment of the nation at Mt. Sinai, the 40 years of wandering in the desert, and then finally the conquest of Canaan. At the end of all that, he gathered everyone together and very carefully reviewed the lessons that had been learned from their experiences. After reviewing their experiences, he issued them a challenge in verses 14 and 15 and said, “Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” His assumption was that they would serve someone (or something), but they would get to decide who or what it would be. He planted his flag in the ground on serving God and threw down the gauntlet.
Whether you have realized it yet or not, you will believe and follow something. We have learned from Daniel’s experience in Daniel 1 that your beliefs and your actions go together. Ultimately, your beliefs will determine what you value (or what you will serve), which will then determine your behavior. Therefore, the reverse is also true: your behavior reveals what you value, which in turn reveals what you believe. You now get to decide your starting point: What do you believe, and therefore, who or what will you follow? Will you choose God, like Joshua, and will you do it without compromise, like Daniel? You are the one who chooses for yourself what your story will be.
We have walked through several principles that you can apply to avoid compromise while maintaining excellence, but you must understand that it doesn’t happen by accident. Daniel modeled for us what we are striving for, which is the commitment to integrity in our character and faith, and excellence in our work, both at the same time. The world would have you think that you must leave your faith at the door when you go out into the real world, but I would contend wholeheartedly that you can be both Christian and excellent without compromising either. But to do so, you must intentionally and consciously commit to a belief in the God of the Bible and the accompanying principles by which you set your values and make your decisions, and you must consistently live those out in daily life. Leading with excellence while living without compromise is up to you. You decide.
