Using a Faulty Compass
Leviticus 18:24-25
“Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.”
I remember a story from years ago how Dr. Lester Roloff and Dr. Jack Hyles flew to a revival meeting together. Dr. Roloff flew his own plane, and Bro. Hyles rode with him on the trip to their meeting. Somehow Bro. Roloff got off course on his flight. He couldn’t figure out why his instruments were not working. After much analysis he found out the cause of his problem. He had a small metal can on the dash of the airplane, which altered the heading instrument. The instruments worked off magnetic headings, and with a metal can on the dash, the compass gave him a false reading. Literally, the faulty compass led them off course.
There are many in Christianity today who use a faulty compass to measure morality. They look at how wicked the world is, and they surmise that they are not as bad as the world. Their compass for morality becomes the morality of the world. The mistake they make is that they should be using the Scriptures as their moral compass. It really doesn’t matter what the world will and will not justify, the only thing that matters is what the Scriptures say.
In Leviticus 18, God sets the moral compass for the Christian. Though these moral laws were initially given to the children of Israel, God never changed them. God expects the Christian to live by these laws of morality. When you read the list of sins God doesn’t want us to commit, you will see some very disgusting sins. In fact, God says that these sins are the very sins that caused other nations to fail. These sins eventually led to their destruction. This list includes the sins of adultery, sodomy, prostitution and many other horrible sins. The nations before Israel legalized these sins, and their acceptance of them led to God’s judgment. God commanded Israel not to use these other nations as their moral compass.
God also shows how to keep from committing these sins. When you look at the beginning of the chapter, you will find that God uses the word “nakedness” several times. God told Israel in order to avoid these horrible sins you go to the root of the problem and avoid seeing nakedness in your personal home and society. “Nakedness” is defined as anything above the knee. This was not just a command to the women, but also to the men. God told them that they would be able to keep morality in their nation and homes if they would avoid seeing “nakedness” at home.
Christian, don’t use the world as your measuring stick for morality. The world is a faulty compass. Just because you are home doesn’t make it right to be indecent. You need to make sure that your children are always decent. Decency should be expected in your home. This keeps the home from losing its morality. I am not just talking about decency in what you wear, but I am also talking about decency in what you see. Be careful that you don’t have one rule for decency in what you wear, but another rule for decency in what you see.
Just because your measure of decency is not as bad as the world’s, it is still wrong if your measure of decency doesn’t match God’s compass for decency and morality. I encourage you to take a good look at what you allow yourself to see and wear. Always remember that the world is a faulty compass by which to measure your decency and morality. Decency and morality should only be measured by the true compass of the Word of God. If your compass is different from God’s Word, then you have a faulty compass. A faulty compass in life will lead you to an undesirable destination. Let God’s Word be your compass, and It will lead you to the destination of decency, morality and true happiness.