Psalm 119:3

"They do not compromise with evil, and they walk only in his paths."

The trouble with our English versions of the Bible is that the verses are not always divided up in a way that makes single verse consideration easy. To know who "they" are, you have to bump back up to verses 1 and 2 and we learn that "they" are people who are happy and blessed because they:

• Live with integrity
• Follow God's law
• Obey his decrees
• Search for God with all their hearts

In this verse, we learn two more things-- they do not compromise and they walk in the God's path. Compromise is so deadly. We often think of compromise as something we do "for the greater good." In the movie The Kingdom of Heaven, the hero Balian refuses to comply with the plan of the king because he would compromise his integrity in doing so. He is told by the king's sister, "There will be a day when you will wish you had done a little evil to do a greater good." And yet it is because of his integrity that Balian is victorious in the end.

Compromise does not bring us to a greater good; rather, it puts us into contractual agreement with evil, as Psalm 3 states. God's path may not be the quickest, most direct, or easy to see, but it is the best way we can walk.

By the way, Sarah Owen wrote a great post on Integrity for Bible Drill Wednesday over at zonegathering.com yesterday.