“Compromise, The Language Of The Devil”

Originally Posted May 18, 2021

In the movie “Chariots of Fire”, Eric Liddell is talking to his father Reverend J.D. Liddell who says,  “Eric, you are the proud possessor of many gifts. It is your sacred duty to put them to good use. Don’t compromise. Compromise is the language of the devil. Run in God’s name, and let the world stand back in wonder.” 

We need to always be on our guard. There’s often pressure to compromise God’s will in our life….. to talk ourselves out of doing it. “Lord, don’t you know that in my situation, I need some flexibility…I don’t want to be rigid… I need to use my head here….bla,bla,bla.” I think most saints…most martyrs… could have made a case for not being so rigid, so uncompromising…but they didn’t and we now call them saints and we want to be like them. 

The great artist, Fra Angelico, could have been a celebrity and wealthy man…yet, his love of God’s will caused him to reject the glories of this earth. “A Dominican, known for his gentleness and good humor, he never took up the brush without first praying. He is quoted as saying, you have real wealth if you are content with little… and obedience is less tiring and you are a lot surer of not going astray.” (ref. Magnificat, May 2021, p. 213) 

When it’s all said and done, only “God’s will” and his truth will be standing . A million years from now, the truth of God will still be here. Many other thoughts and opinions and theories will have long since been debunked; after being front page headlines in its day, they won’t even be remembered. Anything that is opposed to God’s truth will crumble. 

We need to work hard at securing God’s will in our heart. Find God’s will and never let it go…. don’t compromise, don’t “water it down” or try to make it more palatable. It’s often not easy to embrace God’s will …there is always a cost. Nevertheless, with his grace we can embrace it and allow it to purify and make us holy. Lord help us to do your will. Saints in heaven, pray for us. 

A final quote from Rev. Liddell: “The kingdom of God is not a democracy. The Lord never seeks reelection. There’s no discussion, no deliberation, no referanda as to which road to take. There’s one right, one wrong. One absolute ruler. ( A dictator, you mean?) Aye, but a benign, loving dictator.”