Why Would a Christ-Follower Go Along with the Carnal Ideas of the World?

Have you read Proverbs 25:26? Here are three translations.

• When a good person gives in to the wicked, it’s like dumping garbage in a stream of clear water. (CEV)
• Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked. (ESV)
• A good person who gives in to a bad person is a muddied spring, a polluted well. (MSG)

Wow! King Solomon was quite graphic when describing the godly person who gives way to the world. Unfortunately, the king who allowed his foreign wives to bring their idolatrous practices into Jerusalem knew firsthand what he wrote of here. Why did Solomon allow himself to become corrupted and go along with the carnal ideas of his foreign wives? Or more to the point of what I want to address here, why would a Christ-following husband or wife go along with the carnal ideas of the world instead of what they know to be right and biblical?

Before answering that, allow me to first say that giving in to specific ideas and people in the world is not always bad. For instance, the jury is still out on all the methods used to combat Covid-19. During the pandemic, there were honest differences of opinion on both sides of the issue, and they were firmly held. Going along with one side—giving in—in good faith to protect people's health is a gray-area issue. Only later might we be able to one day rightly assess those worldly leaders’ wisdom and decisions. We could very well discover that future generations were polluted by bad science, or we may learn that many deaths were prevented by the decisions made. Whichever way it may turn out to be, there were good people, with good intentions, who gave in to bad ideas (though at the time seemed to be good ideas). 

This is not the scenario Solomon was speaking of in Proverbs 25:26. Instead, this proverb refers to the righteous, godly person who makes a conscious and surrendered decision to give in and give way to an unbelieving person with an ungodly or unbiblical idea. They are well aware that they are giving in to something at odds with their faith in Christ and biblical revelation—and they move forward nonetheless. 

Think of some social situation with moral implications. What about a Christ-following husband hanging out with a group of fellow businessmen, none of whom follow Christ, at a convention in Las Vegas? Someone proposes going to a strip club and hooking up with prostitutes afterward, and the Christ-follower with a wife and three kids under the age of ten goes with them. 

Why would this husband do this?

One, perhaps he lacks courage. His fear and weakness control him when tested, so he signs off on the wrong or sinful idea. Anxious over the potential social ostracism of the ungodly and unbiblical group of men, he gives way to the idea he knows is wrong in the eyes of the Lord. He could not handle the thought of their mockery and anger if he said no to their proposal and went back to his room alone. 

Two, maybe he has courage but does not wish to stand firm due to a greater desire for the approval of the ungodly men and their sinful ideas. He could handle the boos, but he prefers the cheers. Put another way; he goes along with the crowd of men because his boss is in that group, and his ultimate advancement and increased income hang on the boss’s promotion and salary increase. In addition, the sexual enticement pulls him in that direction, so he gives way and gives in to the sensual pleasure.

Third, perhaps he suppresses what God reveals in His Word on moral purity, the covenant he made with his wife, and the pleasing of His loving and sovereign Lord Jesus. This man blocks out the words of Jesus in Mark 8:38: “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

The following day, this Christ-following husband who went along with the sinful idea awakens feeling polluted, like a muddied spring. Indeed, where the day before his heart experienced the pure streams of Christ’s presence, he now feels like garbage has been dumped in his soul. He has betrayed his wife and children and his testimony for Christ. He cannot do what these men do without quenching and grieving the Spirit of Christ who lives in him. Whereas these men can go into the darkness without Christ shining on them, this man cannot go into darkness apart from the light of Christ shining on him.

Please consider your own situation. You may never do what this man did in Las Vegas. However, what are some issues in front of you right now that you know in your heart are wrong? Are you tempted and tested to go along with this unbiblical idea? Please consider whether you lack the courage to disagree with the un-Christlike position. Or two, do you want the approval of those who advocate this unbiblical practice? And finally, three, do you lack courage and seek consent because you are telling yourself, “The Bible can be wrong or misread in what it says about this issue”? As a result, are you about to waffle on evident truths outlined in the Word of God? 

If so, should you consider Proverbs 25:26 again: “When a good person gives in to the wicked, it’s like dumping garbage in a stream of clear water” (CEV)?

I believe you are a good person. Why would you dump garbage into your soul?