J.E. Solinski
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Books
  • About
  • Contact
  • Resources
  • My Favs!

Compromise . . . d

8/5/2017

1 Comment

 
Picture
With all the gridlock that has been going on in Washington for the past umpteen years, citizens are crying out for some sort of compromise between the arguing factions. Work together for Pete’s sake, many are thinking. Because of this frustration, compromise has taken on a totally positive connotation. It is seen as both the salve and salvation for what plagues our nation. But that isn’t necessarily true.

Steven Covey in his book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, calls successful compromise a Win-Win for both parties. In other words, both parties leave feeling that they have been heard and their opinions valued, and the solution maintains those beliefs and ideals most important to each side. For instance, Bill wants Chinese but Sarah wants Italian. The compromise? Chinese this week and Italian next week. If Bill and Sarah decide to go to a steakhouse, which neither likes, then this compromise is useless.

While some compromises can be merely unsatisfying, others can be downright dangerous. We have heard stories of over-the-counter drugs being tampered with, or the structure of a building or bridge suffering damage. Even more common are the reports of computer systems whose security walls have been breached, leaving millions of people’s identities at risk. To put it simply, when the item or structure has been damaged, then its integrity has been compromised, and trust and credibility is lost.

As Christians we are often seen as intolerant or rigid in our beliefs because we won’t happily ride the ebb and flow of some societal changes because they run counter to our Christian values. However, sometimes we find ourselves willing to go along with the flow. Whether it is because we don’t want to feel the sting of a verbal attack or we want to enjoy forbidden fruit, we will sometimes compromise our values. But when we do our integrity is compromised, and people now question the sincerity of our faith. As a result, our Christian witness is damaged and difficult to rebuild.

Yes, we need to work together. We need to listen to others and understand what is important to them. But that does not mean we must agree with every opinion, and it certainly doesn’t mean we need to compromise God’s truth.



1 Comment
Linda C
8/6/2017 10:57:41 am

Amen!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Jody Eileen Solinski spent her career teaching in the California public school system where she enjoyed helping young adults take their place in society. A native Californian, she enjoys the outdoors and so loves living in Northern California where she can enjoy the beauty of God’s creation up close.

    Picture
    Subscribe

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015

    Categories

    All
    Anger
    Appreciation
    Art
    Attitude
    Beauty
    Belief
    Books
    Bravery
    Calm
    Change
    Christian Bloggers
    Christian Living
    Christmas
    Cleansing
    Conflict
    Consistency
    Coronavirus
    Costs
    Demands
    Disappointment
    Discontent
    End Times
    Evil
    Faith
    Fatigue
    Fear
    Fires
    Focus
    Foolishness
    Forgiveness
    Frustration
    God's Protection
    God's Sovereignty
    God's Timing
    Good Intentions
    Grace
    Grief
    Healing
    Hell
    Holy Spirit
    Hopes
    Hymns
    Hypocrisy
    Ingenuity
    Isolation
    Jesus
    Legacies
    Listening
    Love
    Memories
    Money
    Mornings
    Mothers
    Music
    New Years
    Opportunities
    Order
    Pain
    Patience
    Peace
    Perfection
    Perseverance
    Perspective
    Prayer
    Pressure
    Promises
    Purpose
    Readiness
    Reading
    Reduction
    Refreshed
    Relationship
    Relief
    Remembering
    Renewed
    Reset
    Rest
    Sacrifice
    Science
    Seeing
    Self-Centeredness
    Service
    Sin
    Sleep
    Spiritual Diet
    Spiritual Life
    Storms
    Strength
    Suffering
    Summer
    Talents
    Temptation
    Thanksgiving
    The Bible
    The Tongue
    Troubles
    Trust
    Truth
    Unity
    Water
    Weaknesses
    Wise Counsel
    Worry
    Writing
    Youth

J.E. Solinski ©2015