Commitment and Compromise

The evaluation of our setting is a necessary and difficult exercise. Values that are deeply held will sometimes find places of conflict with the values of others. When value systems are at odds with each other there are two basic options. One can either stand true to the values held at all cost, or one can compromise. Although compromise is sometimes demanded for the sake of relational progress, every time a compromise is made concerning a core value a little piece of who we really are is lost. None of us can afford to give in to the degree that we become another person. When compromise is called for too often it's time to ask some difficult questions. Do I really belong in this setting? Would my skills and convictions work better somewhere else? Am I really being true to myself in this current environment? Could somebody else be a better fit for this assignment than I am? These are hard questions, especially in these times of limited opportunities, but they must be asked and honestly answered. Everybody does not fit everywhere. Every assignment is not a lifetime assignment. We all get our feathers ruffled at times in any setting. However, when we are operating from a place of continual compromise our integrity is skewed. Look at how much you function from commitment and how much you function from compromise. That ratio could be telling you something needs to change.