I’ve heard a saying that goes something like this, “that’s good enough for government work.” Quite funny and often times quite true to describe when a job is just good enough to get by. The job could be done better but usually because of time, effort or just a matter of care, the job is simply wrapped up and completed. I guess you could say that the arch nemesis of this statement would be, “if it’s worth doing it’s worth doing right.” And friends, smack dab in the middle of those two statements lies our topic, compromise.
We face these specific moments every day. To go the extra mile and finish the job strong or slow down and coast on into the finish line. Many today in the world would think that God only cares about high fallutin’ spiritual things but what would you think if I were to tell you that God does indeed care about our work ethic as well. I mean that in itself would be compromise if God only cared about a portion of our charachter, right?
Today in Number 32 we get a glimpse of this process, the temptation and cost of compromise, that is, settling for good enough. We’re nearing the historic event of the Israelites finally entering the promised land and as we do, recall that because of a lack of faith, the last generation refused to enter and claim this same promised land. As a result, God sent them back into the wilderness to wander for 40 years as those rebellious hearts died. It’s 40 years later and a new generation is now standing on the border of the land that God has promised them. God’s promised land, a land flowing with milk and honey. A land that is rich and fertile. A land that will provide for the people in a way that will allow them to flourish and thrive. And most important, a land that God made for them to possess and has commanded them to inhabit.
You’d think after the story of their parents refusing to enter this land had been told and retold for 40 years, that this new generation would be chomping at the bit to get into this promised land they had been hearing so much about. But alas, today we see not the hard rebellious hearts of their parents, but the soft lukewarm hearts of compromise.
You see, the wilderness and the promised land were clearly separated by the Jordan River. The wilderness represents the world, a rough, sin-filled place that is hard on the child of God. The Israelites have been tempted, scourged, killed, judged and endured great hardships in the “worldly” wilderness. But it was never God’s intention for the Israelites to live this long in the worldly wilderness. He intended for them to go straight to the promised land as soon as they fled their slavery in Egypt. Remember that the journey from Egypt to the Promised Land was only a 40 day walk yet it took them over 40 years because of their sinful lack of Faith in God.
On the flip side of the worldly wilderness, the Promised Land represents a walk with Christ. It represents living in the spiritual blessings of Jesus Christ. And folks to accept Jesus as your Savior is an act, a physical act. You must confess with your mouth and accept Jesus in your heart.
“If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9
You see, the salvation of Jesus Christ is not a dream, a wish or some magical act, it is something that you must physically do. We see before us a representation of this in the Jordan River. It represents the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (Joshua 4) God has commanded the people to cross the Jordan and go into the promised land that holds His abundant blessings. If you don’t cross the river you don’t get in. It’s just that simple. It’s also just that simple with becoming a follower of Jesus Christ, you believe in Jesus or you don’t. You’re either a genuine Christian or you’re not. Going to church won’t work. Doing some good things won’t work. Getting Baptized won’t work. Trying to keep the 10 commandments won;t work. You must call upon Jesus, you must cross that Jordan.
As this decision faces the new generation of Israelites though, we see the ugly appearance of compromise. The tribes of Reuben and Gad examine the land they are standing in and compared to the desert they have been wandering in, see a land that is green and lush. These people were farmers and ranchers and they see a land that would be great for their animals. So, they appeal to Moses that they not cross over the Jordan with the rest of the 10 tribes but stay here in a land that is just good enough. The only problem with this logic? It’s riddled with lack of faith. They have never even seen the good that God has for them just across the Jordan. You see, at its core, compromise in our lives is built on lack of faith in God.
The story of the tribes of Reuben and Gad play out on through the New Testament and we hear from the tribe of Gad again in Matthew 8 after Jesus has crossed the Jordan and calmed the storm. Remember who He encounters as he steps of the boat? The Gadarenes, (Matt 8:28) the tribe of Gad. They are still living on the wrong side of the Jordan and this is where Jesus encounters the mad man living in the graveyard and cast out his demons into a herd of pigs. Do you remember how the town people of Gad react to Jesus’ miracle? They begged Him to leave. (Matt 8:34) 1400 years later, the hearts of these people are still rejecting God in compromise. They’re still living a life of good enough.
So, what does compromise look like today? Well first as a child of God you have to believe that God only has the very best for you. God does not intend to give you a life that is “good enough for government work.” God has a life for you that is chock full of goodness, joy, love, excitement, adventure and change. The question is, is your faith in God allowing you to constantly pursue the life He has for you or are you compromising? Are you settling for a land on the wrong side of the Jordan because it looks good enough? Folks, if you settle where it’s good enough, you’ll never know how good it could really be.
Don’t be on the wrong side of the river of compromise. God has the absolute best for you but you’ve first got to believe it and then you have to go get it. You see the promised land was always promised to the Israelite, but they had to inhabit it, they had to cross the Jordan and claim it. Claim the abundant life that God has for you today. It will be much richer and more fertile than anything you could ever imagine.
God bless you as you journey with Christ, if you’re reading this your being prayed for.
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