Tag: compromise

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Courage to Compromise

hamilton

“Hamilton” is a juggernaut musical currently fetching at least $700 for prime seats. It’s a civic class in hip hop, George Washington’s cabinet argument as rap battle for the future of the fledgling American economy: Jefferson’s rural and agricultural against Hamilton’s urban and commercial. Reason in rhyme with best diss wins, which is not too far from the truth. Jefferson and Hamilton are at the opposite ends and no one wins. So they strike a compromise, both losing to win.

A piece in the musical titled “The Room Where it Happens” is a retelling of that compromise over a dinner. Hamilton gets the federal government to assume state debt and tax individual states for it while Jefferson gets the capitol, destined for Pennsylvania, closer to his home on the Potomac. Historians call that dinner the “Compromise 
of 1790.”

The current demonizing of compromise as the bane of Washington politics is a travesty, a straw man used by candidates to win cheap votes which leads to the farce of politicians running as “non-politicians.” To some, Mr. Trump’s non-political background and political ineptitude makes him the best politician.

In previous columns I argued that conversation and compromise, the scapegoat for everything ugly in politics, is what we must get better at. My closing argument is for more compromise…

(as this is a piece I did for North State Journal, a North Carolina state wide paper, please follow link to continue reading – 1 week free trial available.)

 

 

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Compromise Is Repentance

JerusalemCouncil

“Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from eating food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, from eating the meat of strangled animals, and from consuming blood.” Acts 15:20

This is the first council of the churches on a make or break theological issue and the spirit of their rabbi Jesus prevailed over the gravity of tradition, a surprising turn.

Many Pharisees wanted to impose circumcision on the new Gentile ranks of Christ-followers. They saw this as an essential element to following Jesus, who himself was a Jew and circumcised: not a shabby argument. If this first council imposed circumcision, then Christianity could well have been a Jewish sect footnote. But Peter hits on what was the fundamental message of Jesus, “We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus” (v 11).

This message, that all are saved by the same grace, fortifies this fledgling church. But still, the council could not totally unchain itself from Jewish mores. They did not go all the way. As we read in v 20, it sets some classic Jewish laws as requisites. They are less severe than circumcision but they are set as laws nevertheless. Paul goes on to dismiss even these laws as he becomes more radical in his mission and theology. He writes in the letter to Corinth that eating food sacrificed to idol is totally permissive and it is an issue of conscience. But for now, Paul and the church settles for this compromise…and this is what I get…that compromise is not bad.

Compromise is an act of trust in God’s progressive work. Compromise forces the discipline of humility, for compromise is an act of repentance, accepting other ways of doing even when we think we are fully in the right. Lack of compromise leads to divisions and standstills. But more dangerous is victory without compromise. The victors will not only gloat over their win but will pride themselves for their purity, for not having compromised. Purity leaves no room for repentance and it is dangerous for people to think they have nothing to rethink.