Editorial – The Accommodation Principle

In our last editorial we quoted the following statement, “Satan is at work in secrecy and darkness. Cunningly he draws away the followers of Christ from the cross, and brings them into self-indulgence and wickedness.” Signs of the Times, April 20, 1876. [Emphasis Supplied.]

Notice that Satan works with cunning. This word is sometimes used to mean “skillful” or “clever” or “shrewd.” However, another basic meaning of this word is “skillful in deception,” and if you look at the context of this reference, this is the way Ellen White is using it. There are many elements involved in the devil’s skillful deception; we will study one of the principal elements in this editorial. Why should we study this subject? “Too often it is the case that the people of God are not on the watch, and are therefore ignorant of his [Satan’s] devices. He works by means which will best conceal himself from view, and he often gains his object.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 304.

One of the devil’s principal tools, that he has used with overwhelming success, is the accommodation principle. The accommodation principle is simply the fact that both the human body and mind have the capacity to adapt themselves automatically to the situations in which an individual finds himself. This principle is a primary factor of casuistry—that science by which standards of right and wrong are gradually changed over a long period of time (often many generations). Each change is slight enough so as not to evoke a public outcry. It is in this way that sinful practices can become almost universal. This includes physical, mental, and spiritual situations.

Example 1—Modesty: How much of your body should be covered when you are in a mixed group away from your house? Even the devil cannot get the whole world to go naked—at least not yet—but he uses the accommodation principle. New fashions are introduced which uncover and reveal some part of the body that has customarily been covered. At first people are shocked, and only fashion models or the “Hollywood crowd” wear the new style, but gradually, as these people are seen in the media and in newspapers and magazines, people become accustomed to seeing such attire, and they do not think anything about it. If it was sinful at first, it is still just as sinful, but people have accommodated to it. A few texts to consider, to see if you are in harmony with Bible teaching on modesty or whether the accommodation principle is working in your life, are: Genesis 3:7, 21(the original word apron in Genesis 3:7 means girdles or belts or literally a loin covering); Deuteronomy 22:5; Exodus 20:26; Isaiah 3:16; Leviticus 18:17. (Compare Zechariah 3:4; Revelation 16:15. Notice what a “robe” is in your own dictionary.)

Example 2—Adornment: Adornment is the act of decorating or doing something to add to the beauty of the person. There is both righteous and unrighteous adornment for Christians, as clearly explained in the Old and New Testaments. Today we see most Christians in direct violation of the plainest Biblical commands about adornment. How did this happen? Through the accommodation principle over a period of many years! A few texts on this subject would include Genesis 35:1–4; 2 Kings 9:30; Isaiah 3:16–25; 1 Timothy 2:9, 10; 1 Peter 3:1–5.

Many more examples could be cited in the fields of music, worship, diet, recreation, amusement; in the study of theology; in the practice of medicine and in the fields of education and philosophy. The accommodation principle has been used by the devil with masterful success since the days of Eve or before. It is so universal in the world and is so unnoticed that your only chance of avoiding it is to study your Bible and live by its every word and principle.

Inspired: “God will have a people upon the earth to maintain the Bible, and the Bible only, as the standard of all doctrines and the basis of all reforms.” The Great Controversy, 595.