Finding common ground with people to resolve an issue and move forward together is a noble task. It’s noble if in the process we don’t compromise our integrity or dishonor who or what we represent. 

Politics is where most of us see the process of compromise in a negative way when ethics and core values are violated to reach a compromised decision. It’s not something limited to the world of politics. The Church and our witness in the world are subject to the same kind of unhealthy compromise. But there’s a difference for us. Our compromise carries with it an eternal consequence.

Paul was willing to work with people as far as it was possible. He wrote the following to the church in Corinth, a church that resembles the American church in many ways, “I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings (I Corinthians 9:22-23). Seeking common ground for Paul meant the process had a single goal – to save the lost. It was all about the Gospel. An uncompromising message about Jesus, His Kingdom, and the way of salvation was his focal point.

In the process of living a life of faith, we must first understand who the master of our lives is, who we allow to call the shots, and who sets the agenda for our interaction with others. The issue was clear to Paul. “Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ” (vs. 19).  Paul became a slave to serve the interests of his master – Jesus Christ.

Paul clarified the issue in the previous chapter, “There is one God, the Father, by whom all things were created, and for whom we live. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created, and through whom we live” (I Corinthians 8:6).

Finding common ground with people requires that we know who the master of our life is and remain faithful to His mission to redeem the lost. It’s too easy to succumb to a blend of religious and political spirits foolishly thinking the compromise those spirits produce will be the will of God.

The great test of our integrity to the Lord and His word will come when “victory” is close at hand where a simple compromise about the Lord and His word would put the negotiation over the top to gain mutual acceptance. That is not common ground. It is a seductive trap – a place where many gifted and called people succumbed to an evil proposition that derailed their life and the lives of those who believed the compromise reached was acceptable to God.