Compromise Reaches No One

After Lot became a prisoner in a war that wasn’t his own, Abraham intervened. He put together an army of more than three hundred trained men, launched an attack, and rescued Lot.

We could have expected Lot to say, “Uncle Abraham, thank you. I’m going to turn to God and have faith like I’ve never had before.”

Instead, Lot moved to Sodom. And in Genesis 19, we find him sitting at the gates of the city. This meant that Lot was one of Sodom’s leaders. We have to wonder what kind of compromises he made to get there.

Graham Scroggie wrote that compromise “prompts us to be silent when we ought to speak up for fear of offending; it prompts us to praise when it is not deserved to keep people our friends.”

Lot hadn’t pulled the people of Sodom up; they dragged him down. He hadn’t affected them; they were affecting him. And he was worn down.

The Bible tells us, “But God also rescued Lot out of Sodom because he was a righteous man who was sick of the shameful immorality of the wicked people around him. Yes, Lot was a righteous man who was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he saw and heard day after day” (2 Peter 2:7–8 NLT).

In other words, Lot was living there and hating it. He had reached no one, and he was staying there when he should have left.

Are you in a situation like that? You are not pulling anyone up, but they are pulling you down. And it’s getting worse as the days, months, and perhaps even years go by.

How important it is for us to realize that compromise reaches no one. If we’re lowering our standards to extend our reach, then we’re defeating our purpose.