After
you read this it will give new meaning to the word compromise.
Some years ago when I was a pastor, I walked into my church
office after a
Sunday morning service to find a sandwich bag on my desk
containing three
chocolate brownies. Some thoughtful and anonymous saint who knew
my love
for chocolate had placed them there, along with a piece of paper
that had
a short story written on it. I immediately sat down and began
eating the
first brownie as I read the following story:
Two teenagers asked their father if they could go the theater to
watch a
movie that all their friends had seen. After reading some reviews
about
the movie on the internet, he denied their request.
"Aw dad, why not?" they complained. "It's rated PG-13, and we're
both
older than thirteen!"
Dad replied: "Because that movie contains nudity and portrays
immorality,
which is something that God hates, as being normal and acceptable
behavior."
"But dad, those are just very small parts of the movie! That's
what our
friends who've seen it have told us. The movie is two hours long
and
those scenes are just a few minutes of the total film! It's based
on a
true story, and good triumphs over evil, and there are other
redeeming
themes like courage and self-sacrifice. Even the Christian movie
review
websites say that!"
"My answer is 'no,' and that is my final answer. You are welcome
to stay
home tonight, invite some of your friends over, and watch one of
the good
videos we have in our home collection. But you will not go and
watch that
film. End of discussion."
The two teenagers walked dejectedly into the family room and
slumped down
on the couch. As they sulked, they were surprised to hear the
sounds of
their father preparing something in the kitchen. They soon
recognized the
wonderful aroma of brownies baking in the oven, and one of the
teenagers
said to the other, "Dad must be feeling guilty, and now he's
going to try
to make it up to us with some fresh brownies. Maybe we can soften
him
with lots of praise when he brings them out to us and persuade
him to let
us go to that movie after all."
About that time I began eating the second brownie from the
sandwich bag
and wondered if there was some connection to the brownies I was
eating and
the brownies in the story. I kept reading...
The teens were not disappointed. Soon their father appeared with
a plate
of warm brownies which he offered to his kids. They each took
one. Then
their father said, "Before you eat, I want to tell you something:
I love
you both so much."
The teenagers smiled at each other with knowing glances. Dad was
softening.
"That is why I've made these brownies with the very best
ingredients.
I've made them from scratch. Most of the ingredients are even
organic.
The best organic flour. The best free-range eggs. The best
organic sugar.
Premium vanilla and chocolate."
The brownies looked mouth-watering, and the teens began to become
a little
impatient with their dad's long speech.
"But I want to be perfectly honest with you. There is one
ingredient I
added that is not usually found in brownies. I got that
ingredient from
our own back yard. But you needn't worry, because I only added
the
tiniest bit of that ingredient to your brownies. The amount of
the
portion is practically insignificant. So go ahead, take a bite
and let me
know what you think."
"Dad, would you mind telling us what that mystery ingredient is
before we
eat?"
"Why? The portion I added was so small. Just a teaspoonful. You
won't
even taste it."
"Come on, dad, just tell us what ! that ingredient is."
"Don't worry! It is organic, just like the other ingredients."
"Dad!"
"Well, OK, if you insist. That secret ingredient is organic...dog
poop."
I immediately stopped chewing that second brownie and I spit it
out into
the waste basket by my desk. I continued reading, now fearful of
the
paragraphs that still remained.
Both teens instantly dropped their brownies back on the plate and
began
inspecting their fingers with horror. "DAD! Why did you do that?
You've
tortured us by making us smell those brownies cooking for the
last half
hour, and now you tell us that you added dog poop! We can't eat
these
brownies!"
"Why not? The amount of dog poop is very small compared to the
rest of
the ingredients. It won't hurt you. It's been cooked right along
with
the other ingredients. You won't even taste it. It has the same
consistency as the brownies. Go ahead and eat!"
"No, Dad...NEVER!"
"And that is the same reason I won't allow you to go watch that
movie.
You won't tolerate a little dog poop in your brownies, so why
should you
tolerate a little immorality in your movies? We pray that God
will not
lead us unto temptation, so how can we in good conscience
entertain
ourselves with something that will imprint a sinful image in our
minds
that will lead us into temptation long after we first see it?"
I discarded what remained of the second brownie as well as the
entire
untouched third brownie. What had been irresistible a minute ago
had
become detestable. And only because of the very slim chance that
what I
was eating was slightly polluted. (Surely it wasn't...but I
couldn't
convince myself.)
What a good lesson about purity! Why do we tolerate any sin? On
the day
of the Passover, the Israelites were commanded to remove every
bit of
leaven from their homes. Sin is like leaven - a little bit
leavens the
whole lump (1 Cor. 5:6). Jesus, "our Passover" (1 Cor. 5:7), and
sin,
don't mix.
"Do not ask the Lord to guide your footsteps if you are not
willing to
move your feet."