Main Idea: God’s power is our inner resource to resist the pressure to compromise our character.

Introduction: During the spring of 1989, Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China was the sight of months of student protests against the Chinese Communist rule. The rebellion was unheard of in China before or since that time. On June 4, 1989 Chinese troops stormed the protestors, perhaps killing thousands of people. The day after the crackdown, 18 Chinese tanks in a single column were headed down the central part of Tiananmen Square to continue restoring order. From off to the side a single man carrying two shopping bags created one of the 20^th centuries most historic moments. What did he do? He walked calmly toward the tanks and stood in front of the single column of 18 tanks causing them to stop!

That’s right. He stood in front of the tanks. If the tank in front went right he went in front of it. If it went left, he went in front of it. He shifted the bags from one hand to the other. Finally, he climbed up onto the tank and began screaming down the tank hatch to the driver. The soldiers quickly captured the man but what is strange is this: no one to this day knows who he was or what has happened to him! Here was one man who, in spite of the pressure to compromise all he believed, dared to physically stand in front of a tank. (www.ardemgaz.com, June 6, 2004) You have to ask yourself, "Do I have that kind of courage to stand up for what I believe is true? Do I have the will to resist the pressure to compromise my character?" John Maxwell says, "Adversity is a crossroads that make a person choose one of two paths: character or compromise. Every time he chooses character he becomes stronger, even if that choice brings negative consequences." (The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader, p. 4)

How you as a believer deal with the pressures of life tells you many things about your character. Crisis, pressure and temptation to yield do not necessarily make your character, but it does reveal it. This was something that the psalmist was learning in Psalm 141. For him, the outward pressures to compromise his character were growing greater by the minute. With a sense of urgency and almost panic he pleads with God to strengthen him within to enable him to withstand the outward pressures to sell out.

The question is, "Where does the power come from to choose character over compromise?" The answer is it comes from within! I believe that everything rises or falls on our character and character develops from the inside out. If you are the person you should be on the inside you will become the person you want to be on the outside.

How did the psalmist resist the pressure to compromise his character? Three things are found in these verses that can guide us: First, he admitted to God that the pressure was greater than he could withstand. Second, he analyzed the areas where the pressure was the greatest. Thirdly, he was willing to accept the correction he needed from resources he could trust.

The setting for this psalm is one with the tone of panic and urgency. It may have been that the writer has been to the Temple and is reflecting on the circumstances of his life. He has observed all the ceremonies and offerings of incense but rather than that bringing comfort to him, it is a place where he is confronted with the realities and threats that are all around him. So in a panic he petitions God to respond to him quickly as he pleads with God over and over. What you sense is the writer recognized that the threats of evil people are greater than he alone can endure. He fears the lust of "evil things," "acts of wickedness: (141:4), "those who do evil things" (141:5), "the wicked" (141:5) and those who would plot his ruin (141:8-10). Simply put, the pressure to join "the other side" is greater than he bargained for and he told God he couldn’t handle it.

It is hard for us to admit that there are things we are powerless to control. That is especially true when it comes to the pressure to compromise our character. You and I imagine that even though the card your co-worker sent you was sexually inappropriate, you know it won’t lead anywhere. You think that visiting that website just to see what’s out there won’t bother you. You convince yourself that using drugs just to get through the pressures of your problems won’t be a problem for you. You can tell yourself that you can drink even though you are not 21 because it’s just not that big of a deal. You really can look yourself in the mirror and tell yourself that it is not a problem for you to casually have sex before you are married because you are not serious with them. You really believe that intimate chatting on line with a person who is not your spouse won’t hurt because, "Well, your spouse just doesn’t understand you." Or "They have problems that only I can understand" You get the picture? You think you can handle it.

If you feel the pressure to compromise is greater than you can handle, you have got to admit that to God. He will give you the strength to endure it and make a way for you to win. The Bible says, "But remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can't stand up against it. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it. (1 Cor. 10:13) God is there to help but you have got to stop denying the fact that you can beat it by yourself. Christ’s presence in you is your resource to withstand the pressure!

One of the reasons we do not withstand the pressures to compromise our character is we are reluctant to reflect on exactly where the pressure is the greatest. The psalmist locates three areas for him where he feels the pressure the strongest: his integrity, priorities and his values.

Pressure to compromise my integrity (141:3): Admittedly, there is nothing here that immediately addresses the issue of integrity. Yet if you follow what the writer says I think you’ll see the connection. He asks God to help him control his speech. One translation says, "Set a guard…." and "keep watch…" over his mouth and lips. He is aware that his speech can get him into a position where his integrity or character would be compromised. Isn’t this true for us? James writes of how powerful the tongue is, calling it a flame of fire that has the ability to ruin your whole life. He says, "It can turn the entire course of your life into a blazing flame of destruction, for it is set on fire by hell itself" (James 3:3-6 NLT). Jesus said, "The words you say now reflect your fate then; either you will be justified by them or you will be condemned." (Matthew 12:37) Analyze your speech to see if you risk losing your integrity.

Pressure to compromise my priorities (141:4): The writer is concerned that his desires are going to get out of control and cause him to want what he knows God prohibits. He has set his priorities earlier on things that please God but now those priorities are being challenged by other desires. So he pleads for God to help him control his desires.

I John 2:15-17 warns us that the lust for things opposite to God’s priorities will destroy us. John says, "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever." Is the pressure to compromise the priorities upon which you have built your life getting more than you can bear?

Pressure to compromise my values (Psalm 141:4): The writer pleads for God to help him not give in to the desire to "participate in acts of wickedness" or "share in the delicacies" of evil people. The word that is used for men or people is the word used to describe influential, powerful people. You get the sense that the writer is like Icarus, the figure in Greek mythology whose father made him a set of wings to escape a prison. As he flew the wax that held the feathers to the frame of the wings began to melt. He fell to his death in the ocean. Whenever a person "crashes and burns" after being a person of influence and power we say they flew "too close to the sun." The psalmist knows he is in danger of "flying too close to the sun."

Your values are those core commitments that guide you even if the circumstances have changed when you made that commitment. Keeping our values is not easy when we are pressured by the finer things that come to persons who have power and influence.

Integrity, priorities, values—three areas where the pressure may be the greatest for you to sell out rather than stand strong!

The writer says that it would be better to be corrected by those who were godly than courted by those who are evil. He says that their correction is doing him a favor and brings healing to him. He recognized that any hope he has to get away from the pressure lies in the caution and correction he receives from those who walk close to God.

Paul calls this admonishing. He says, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom…"(Col. 3:16) To admonish someone is to care so deeply about them that you are willing to risk a relationship to save them from possible ruin to themselves. What are primary sources for correction and admonishment?

There are three sources of warning or correction that is available for each of us. First is God’s Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit, if we are alert and will listen, will confront us. Another resource the Spirit will use is God’s Word, the Bible. II Tim. 3:16 says, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness." A third resource is other people and that includes believers and unbelievers. God puts people into our path who can get our attention and steer us in the direction we should go.

However, the struggle is will we listen? We want to listen to those resources that will agree with us and blindly continue on our path until it is too late. The reason we are still struggling is because of the resistance in our souls. In The War of Art by Stephen Pressfield he writes, "Resistance is the most toxic force on the planet. ... It stunts us and makes us less than we are and were born to be. If you believe in God (and I do) you must declare Resistance evil, for it prevents us from achieving the life God intended when he endowed each of us with our own unique genius…Every sun casts a shadow and genius’ shadow is Resistance. As powerful as is our soul’s call to realization, so potent are the forces of Resistance arrayed against it." (From Jennifer Hansen, www.ardemgaz.com, 6/09/04) Are you listening to the voice of resistance rather than the voice of relinquishment? Holding on or letting go?

Conclusion: Where is the pressure causing cracks in your character? Can you admit that you are not handling it? Are you willing to analyze the places where your integrity, priorities and values are beginning to weaken? Will you stop the arrogance and accept your needed correction?

Let me close with four things that might help us resist the pressure to compromise our character:

• Search for cracks: Take a look, a long, hard look where you may be cracking under pressure.
• Look for patterns: Is there something that keeps coming back?
• Face the music: That means do whatever you have to do to repair the cracks.
• Rebuild: It’s time to put the past in the past and build a new future. (John Maxwell)

During the time of the twelve Caesars, the Roman army would conduct morning inspections. As the inspecting Centurion would come in front of each legionnaire, the soldier would strike with his right fist the armor breastplate that covered his heart. The armor had to be strongest there in order to protect the heart from the sword thrusts and from arrow strikes. As the soldier struck his armor, he would shout "integritas" [in-teg-ri-tas], which in Latin means material wholeness, completeness, and entirety. The inspecting Centurion would listen closely for this affirmation and also for the ring that well kept armor would give off. Satisfied that the armor was sound and that the soldier beneath it was protected, he would then move on to the next man.

At about the same time, the Praetorians or imperial bodyguard were ascending into power and influence; drawn from the best "politically correct" soldiers of the legions, they received the finest equipment and armor. They no longer had to shout "integritas" to signify that their armor was sound. Instead, as they struck their breastplate, they would shout "Hail Caesar," to signify that their heart belonged to the imperial personage—not to their unit—not to an institution—not to a code of ideals. They armored themselves to serve the cause of a single man.

A century passed and the rift between the legion and the imperial bodyguard and its excesses grew larger. To signify the difference between the two organizations, the legionnaire, upon striking his armor would no longer shout "integritas," but instead would shout "integer" [in-te-ger]. Integer means undiminished—complete—perfect. It not only indicated that the armor was sound, it also indicated that the soldier wearing the armor was sound of character. He was complete in his integrity…his heart was in the right place…his standards and morals were high. He was not associated with the immoral conduct that was rapidly becoming the signature of the Praetorian Guards.

The armor of integrity continued to serve the legion well. For over four centuries they held the line against the marauding Goths and Vandals, but by 383 A.D., the social decline that infected the republic and the Praetorian Guard had its effects upon the legion.

As a 4th century Roman general wrote, "When because of negligence and laziness, parade ground drills were abandoned, the customary armor began to feel heavy since the soldiers rarely, if ever, wore it. Therefore, they first asked the emperor to set aside the breastplates and mail and then the helmets. So our soldiers fought the Goths without any protection for the heart and head and were often beaten by archers. Although there were many disasters, which led to the loss of great cities, no one tried to restore the armor to the infantry. They took their armor off and when the armor came off—so too came their integrity." It was only a matter of a few years until the legion rotted from within and was unable to hold the frontiers. The barbarians were at the gates. (John Di Frances, Reclaiming the Ethical High Ground, Reliance Books, 2002, pp.103-106)

When you compromise your character you have thrown away the armor of integrity.

Sunday, June 13, 2004

Dr. Bruce Tippit, Pastor

First Baptist Church

Jonesboro, Arkansas

btippit@fbcjonesboro.org