God wants to inconvenience me (II)
Read: God wants to inconvenience me (I)
The house of Israel will never again defile my holy name – neither they nor their kings – by their prostitution and the lifeless idols of their kings at their high places. When they placed their threshold next to my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall between me and them, they defiled my holy name by their detestable practices. – Ezekiel 43:7-9
When I don’t want to be inconvenienced, I compromise. Convenience & compromise are generally inseparable.
That’s what God targets and addresses with Israel in Ezekiel 43. The convenience of having two adjoining places of “worship” makes a lot of sense economically & socially. It makes sense economically because a shared foundation, wall, and roof is always cheaper than building new. It makes sense socially because you can have “one-stop” shopping for people who want to worship. It’s like having the “religious” sector of town. Want to worship Yaweh? Enter through door number one. Want to try your luck with some other gods and have a prostitute to arouse the gods? Enter through door number two. Not sure which? Try both.
I’m not big into committee meetings. but I would have loved to attend the meeting where someone had the guts to suggest that the Temple of Yaweh and pagan worship should share the same walls. What’s even more amazing is that others thought it was a good idea and approved. In that moment a compromise was made because of convenience.
Compromise requires that I lower my expectations, and dismiss someone elses expectations. Not all compromises are bad. Sometimes you have to compromise. Not every “deal” we make is completely in our favor. We might spend a little more on a car, house, computer, TV, etc. than we set out to. But we’re okay with that. I don’t think that kind of compromise is the problem.
But we shouldn’t compromise our worship of God. Ever. And that’s where the rub appears. If I refuse to compromise my worship of God, my life could be (and probably will be) inconvenienced. I will have to do more or less of “something” so that I can keep my life focused and moving towards God. The value of “convenience” is counter-intuitive to pursuing God.
God wants to inconvenience me, because He doesn’t want me to compromise my relationship with Him.
What are you tempted to compromise for convenience sake and what is God showing you in the process?
Compromise, convenience and conviction are all linked. What one person calls compromise another calls an opportunity to reach lost people, depending on their convictions. Bringing secular music into worship one may call compromise. Another may see it as an opportunity to speak relevantly to the culture, in essence redeeming the culture. Singing out of the hymnal may be convenient, but some say it compromises the voice of the 21st Century Church. Others hold the conviction that hymns are the only voice of God in the church in regards to worship.
That being said, I think your conclusion is accurate. Following God is not usually convenient. God is not negotiating with humanity for a compromise. God established the relationship by grace through faith. All relationships are inconvenient at times. This one will be no different.
Blessings!
@ Darin. Good thoughts. I like the idea of linking conviction with compromise and the “relativity” of it all. Thanks for being a part of the discussion.
Darin said “Bringing secular music into worship one may call compromise. Another may see it as an opportunity to speak relevantly to the culture, in essence redeeming the culture.”
Are we saying that we are in control of bringing people to Christ? Where does this process of bringing the culture into the church end? How will people see the difference between the world and the church? Before we know it divorce, adultry, and homosexuality will be common place in the church. Oh wait, it already is. “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” (Gal 5:9)
Wow Milo, there are layers to this verse that I did not recognize at first. Sometimes there is such a thin wall between the God that I worship and the gods in my life that compromise my relationship with God. The ongoing struggle between Spirit and flesh continues for all of us.
@ Chris. Good thoughts. I’m writing a response to your thoughts on what we should find in the church. Thanks for getting some brain juices flowing.