Things Non-negotiable

“Having done everything to stand, stand firm therefore.” Ephesians 6:13

Clear and correct convictions keep you on a straight course.

My thoughts and comments today are about “things non-negotiable.”

Today’s culture seems to espouse a frightening lack of real convictions. A conviction is defined as, “a firm and strong belief.” Too often, too many people have traded conviction for convenience. Their beliefs are loosely held, subject to a change of mind. to such people, beliefs seem negotiable, open to re-interpretation at any moment or as personal advantage dictates.

Some politicians test their position on issues against various voting blocks, adapting to what will garner the larger number of votes. Some leaders don’t set their course until checking the polls of public opinion. Some elected officials are more worried about approval ratings and re-election than about doing what is right. Some business executives compromise moral values for a boosted stock price, or meeting the market’s expectations, or inflating the value of their own shares.

A manufacturer may cheapen a product’s durability or safety, all for the sake of a company’s bottom line. A man or woman – young or old – may sell the purity of their heart or the sanctity of their marriage for a moment of foolish pleasure. A teen can violate a parent’s trust to enjoy the fickle approval of the wrong crowd. Such moments evidence lack of personal conviction. Absolutes are unpopular; consensus is king. Truth is relative; values are flexible. Right is adjustable; wrong is debatable. Those faulty beliefs will lead your heart astray.

Someone cleverly observed, “The man who stands for nothing will fall for anything!” A compass always points “true north.” You can trust it to find your way. The world that surrounds and calls you to follow has no moral compass, no true north. The Apostle Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost is needed even more today, “strongly urging . . . save yourselves from this generation that has gone astray” Acts 2:40 NLT. Clear and correct convictions keep you on a straight course.

You will need to determine what is non-negotiable for you. Do not let the crowd set the price for your soul. Do not allow the culture around you – its fads, fashions, or fascinations – to dictate your lifestyle and pursuits. See 1 Corinthians 7:31. You cannot know who you really are, or who you are meant to be in Christ, until you firmly fix your bottom line morally and spiritually.

Purity, virtue, honesty, loyalty, integrity, and righteousness are things non-negotiable. “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm, let nothing move you.” 1 Corinthians 15:58. I appreciate the old English phrasing of the King James: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” Standing fast; standing firm, standing fruitful in the work of the Lord!

For the child of God, that is not left to chance or private interpretation. Isaiah, the Old Testament Prophet, promised “There will be a voice behind you saying, this is the way, walk in it . . . a highway of Holiness where a man, though a fool, will not err therein” Isaiah 30:21/ 35:8. A life lived that way will never have been lived in vain. “Having done everything to stand, stand firm therefore . . . with the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God” Read Ephesians 6:13-18. Know the Word of God, ever listening to the voice of God within your heart.

My prayer for you today is that you live with clear and firm conviction of God’s righteousness.