Podcast Episode 18 – Without Compromise (part 1)
This week’s episode builds on Monday’s article of the same name, “The Most Important Thing.” Here is the transcript of the podcast:
Have you struggled with compromise or conformity? That’s the question we are going to talk about today. This discussion is going to be the first in a series, all based on a study of Daniel Chapter 1 and corresponding to articles posted on the website. The big idea we will be discussing is how you can navigate pressure – specifically, the pressure to compromise or conform in an unhealthy or immoral way – without deviating from your values. It’s really going to be a discussion of how to lead and live with excellence without compromising your faith. And today, that begins with an understanding of the most important lesson.
When I was a senior in high school, I had a job working in a local meat market and butcher shop. My job was to come after the shop was closed in the evening and clean everything up from the day. Keep in mind, this was a butcher shop so that included cleaning up after the slaughtering and process were done for the day! It was not only messy work, but it was also lonely work, because I was there by myself after everyone else had gone home.
One day, in the late spring, I was doing my job while listening to a Detroit Tigers baseball game on the radio (they won the World Series that year, with the dynamic team of Alan Trammel at Shortstop and Lou Whitaker at 2nd Base, and the outstanding pitching of Jack Morris). My boss was a heavy smoker, and on this evening, he had left a pack of cigarettes behind, which had never happened before. As I was cleaning the front, I came across the cigarettes and was faced with an ethically dilemma. I had never smoked before and had been vocal about my faith with classmates and adamant that smoking, and the use of substances, didn’t mesh with my faith. But now they were right in front of me, and no one was around to see it. I had the chance to pick up a cigarette and smoke it just to see what it would be like, and no one would know. I picked one up and held it in my fingers, looked at it, wondering what it would taste and feel like, then put it away and never lit it up.
Why did I make that decision? In retrospect, that’s a simple answer: I had already established my internal framework to guide my decision-making process, driven by my worldview that was based on my commitment to Jesus Christ and to the Bible. So, when the situation presented itself in front of me, I had actually made the decision ahead of time by doing that. As tempting as it might have been as a teenager to try a cigarette, my beliefs and resulting personal principles directly corresponded to my behavior. Therefore, I didn’t smoke because I couldn’t smoke and still be true to myself. My behavior reflected my pre-established beliefs.
One of the most important – if not the most important – things you need to do to prepare yourself to stand against compromising your faith is to understand that your beliefs and your behavior are inseparable. I’ve quoted my dad on this before, but as he used to say, “Your walk talks and your talk talks, but your walk talks louder than your walk talks.” Your beliefs will result in your behavior, and your behavior will be a reflection of your beliefs. Because this is so, two things will inevitably happen:
1) when you are confronted with a circumstance that challenges your faith and your values, how you respond will be a direct result of the worldview belief system that you have intentionally developed, and
2) Everyone around you will make judgments about who you are based on how they see you act in these circumstances.
Here’s what you need to take away: What you believe and how you live go together. Know what you believe and why it matters; just as importantly, your actions must match your beliefs.
The bottom line is that your walk needs to be consistent with your talk, and that happens when your talk is consistent with your worldview, with what you hold to be true as your foundational belief system. Therefore, if you want to be able to navigate circumstances that challenge your faith and your integrity and come away without having compromised, then you must be purposeful about solidifying your worldview. You won’t have one without the other.
