April 23, 2021 | Morality
It seems that the definition for morality has taken some liberties in recent years. Almost two thousand years ago, God defined morality like this through his servant Paul in Romans 13:8-10, “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.”
That seems pretty clear. First and foremost, anything we do towards another should be founded in love. If your neighbor wrongs you, respond in love. If you must admonish someone, do it in love. If the world tries to force you to react in the way of hate and anger, offer love instead. Love is much more powerful than hate. Its unfortunate that so many seem to be unaware.
If it’s true that love is more powerful than hate, then why do so many continue to respond in hate and anger? Why do they think, over and over again, that hate will win the argument and that instilling fear will make the changes they seek? All we have to do is look throughout any point in history to find that morality based on these attributes only destroys, it never builds up.
Part of it is because the ways of sin have become our easiest outlets. The devil is very good at what he does. Because of His efforts, we have been conditioned to think that morality is about a warped sense of fairness. As he whispers in our ears that things like revenge, hatred and anger will make a positive difference, our fallen nature leads us more to get even then it does to seek benevolent solutions.
It used to be that most people based their morality on the golden rule, “So whatever you wish that others do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12). For many this is still true, but for more and more it’s becoming twisted to mean something more like, “be kind to others unless they do something you don’t approve of.”
In 1 Corinthians 15:33 it tells us that, “Bad company ruins good morals.” We see it especially in many of our young people who find their comfort in lashing out with the angry mob using only vengeance to guide them. They see a problem, and instead of engaging in conversation, they lash out, trying to make change through intimidation and destruction.
Even in the face of this, we see God working through His people to make things right. The majority of those who protest, do so in productive ways, many of them with love in their hearts. They stand up for what is right and resist what is wrong. They learn all of the facts and do their best to change what is wrong in the system through peaceful means.
The one’s whose morality is ruled by hate will try and convince others that their way doesn’t work, that its been tried and has failed. We have but to lead them to Christ’s example. His morality was defined in Godly terms, love your neighbor, take care of those in need, find the lost.
The morality God wishes us all to inherit can be summed up in the words of Matthew 25: 31-40:
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you? And the King will answer them, Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
Your morality shouldn’t be based on worldly solutions, it should be based in love. We see what the former is doing to our world, but we can be catalysts for change. You can make a difference that might change the world. Our morality should be based upon that which God has instilled within us, not by what the devil would have you believe. Be examples of a morality based on the example of Christ who loved each person fully and equally. Please pray with me:
Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Your Son to be the perfect example of proper morals based in love and not anger. Help us to do the same. Amen.
