It's Compromise, That's What It Is

My girls were on Itunes one day loading up on some songs with a gift card they’d gotten. Since they don’t get to do that often, they were excited.

They had a list all ready for me to look over the lyrics and approve their song choices. But one song on there, we’d already discussed that I wouldn’t let them get. They were still trying to get it past me because they really liked the song.

The song wasn’t awful in and of itself. I mean, it could have been a little bit cleaner but it wasn’t horrid. My issue with it was one “D” word. One “D” word.

My girls didn’t understand. They don’t say that particular word, and were aware of its presence, but still wanting the song because it was only “one word.”

My issue is this.: It’s more about compromise than it is even about the word. And compromise always starts small. It starts with one word. One low cut top. One drink. One lie to mom. And we rationalize to ourselves that it’s “only one.”

But what it is, is its compromise of our values and morals.

So if this song has only one bad word – is it then okay to get another song with only one bad word? And another and another? Pretty soon – how many songs on their iPod do they have of bad words that they are constantly hearing in their heads?  How do they know when to stop? Do they stop at just ONE song with ONE bad word? Or do they rationalize that they have that one song and they feel they are okay so it’s okay to get another song and then be okay?

No. Because we can’t always draw a line for ourselves. We move our own lines out of lack of self control. Our wants and desires grow stronger than our limits on ourselves. That’s why we have to have boundaries in place ahead of time and stick to them. We have to have morals and standards by which we choose to live.

It may just be “one word” to them now – but I’m hoping to show them how it’s really one compromise. One compromise too many.  For compromise is always a slippery slope. One that I don’t want them to ever stand on.