When to draw a line in the sand

Our family traveled to Texas a number of years ago to see my sister who was living there at the time.  While we were there, we spent a couple of days in San Antonio.  We took a boat ride along the famous river walk, got soaked by the acrobatic stunts of Shamu at Sea World, and of course toured the Alamo.

In front of the Alamo embedded in the stone is a bronze line.  It represents the line in the sand which Col. William Travis drew when he challenged the defenders to stand and fight.

There are times in life when we need to draw a line in sand.  When we say, “This is as far as I will go and no further.”  In this age of relativism there is much which pushes us to compromise our morals and values.   If we’re going to keep from crossing the line, then we have to have a firm grasp of what our morals and values are.  The time to draw the line in the sand isn’t when the wall is breached and attackers are upon you.

The trick is as a wise old preacher once told me deciding if this mountain is worth dying for.  The patriots at the Alamo decided that liberty was worth dying for.  And they sacrificed their lives defending it. 

I’ve learned over the years that there are only a few mountains which are worth dying for, that it is a rare occasion when a line need be drawn in the sand.  Much of what I considered important as I looked at it in a new light, turned out to be more of a personal preference rather than a true deeply held value.

For instance, Julie and I never got worked up by the hair style choices that our boys made while they were growing up.  Whether it was spiked or shaved off or somewhere in between, several of which I thought were pretty strange looking, it was only hair.  We were willing to allow them the freedom to decide for themselves on such things, so that when we told them no to drugs, to drinking and driving, and the like they would understand that there was no room for compromise.

Each of us is confronted regularly with situations which challenges our likes and our values.  Deciding a head of time what things truly are our values can save a lot of unnecessary conflict, while at the same time providing us with a line which we will not cross.