On March 6, 1820, President James Monroe signed into law the Compromise Bill of 1820, which attempted to equalize the number of slave-holding states and free states in America. However, Monroe closely looked at all proposed legislation within the states for its constitutionality because he personally believed slavery conflicted with the U. S. Constitution. He feared that abolishing slavery would split the nation, but the bill failed to permanently settle the slavery issue.
“Words from Above” in the Bible make it very clear that compromising with the devil is a very dangerous proposition. Adam and Eve found out the hard way about this when they listened to what the devil said in the Garden of Eden. He questioned Eve about what God had said about eating or even touching the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden. He convinced her that eating the fruit would not bring her death, but rather that it would make her as wise as God Himself.
No sooner had she and Adam eaten of the forbidden tree, did they realize that they had made a mistake, and attempted to hide themselves from God and covered themselves with fig leaves to hide their nakedness. God immediately called them out on what they had done, and punished each of them and the devil for what they had done.
Nothing has changed since that fateful day as far as the devil and the human race is concerned. The devil continues to deceive people and get them to compromise what they often know is the wrong things to do. The Bible tells us in I Peter 5:8 that we should be sober (serious) and vigilant, because the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about seeking whom he might devour. Of course, the devil is not interested in having us for lunch, but he is interested in destroying our souls.
Another trick that the devil uses other than deception is to do what the apostle Paul mentions in II Corinthians 4:4. He says there that the devil blinds the minds of people to prevent them from believing what he calls the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God. So, in other words, the devil not only twists what God says, but he tries to prevent us from hearing what God says in the first place. The best way to handle him is to read and study the Word of God, and put into practice what we read. It’s never a good idea to take a chance on letting the devil try to deceive us about what God’s Word says in order to get us to compromise.
Larry R. Steffee is pastor of the Center Hill Brethren In Christ Church on Miller Road in Smithville. Everyone is welcome to attend. For information, you may email lrsteffeetn@yahoo.com.
