Skip to main content

Moral Principles...


“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful,  for they will be shown mercy.  Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.  Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3-10)

                As I said recently, someone is lying. Either it’s Jesus when He said all the things in today’s passage, or it’s our society, when it tells us that we deserve to be wealthy, we deserve to be comforted, we deserve to inherit the earth (before we are twenty-five years old), we deserve to be filled when we hunger and thirst for something other than righteousness, we deserve mercy unilaterally, and we deserve the kingdom of heaven no matter what.
                We were created in the image of God and granted certain rights and privileges, but Adam and Eve made it very clear that they did not deserve those rights and privileges, and they were revoked. We are no better than they, and what’s worse, we don’t learn from their mistake. Someone whispers, “You deserve to have. You deserve to do. You deserve to be like the God,” and we fall all over again. 
                If we are not unbelievably careful, the moment we proclaim that we deserve something, according to the passage above, we prove we don’t deserve it. If we are not equally careful, when we speak of moral principles, we seek to act on power principles.  If we are not careful, we move from “We deserve” (which we may or may not) to “Therefore, you will.” One of the currently popular forms of this in California is “I deserve to be referred to by whatever pronouns I choose.” There may be an argument that can be made for this, but in California, the argument that is made is “And if you don’t obey my wishes, I will get you fired or even destroy  you in court.” The claim is that the other person should listen, understand, and acquiesce to “our” demands, though no thought is given to “our” listening, understanding, or acquiescing.
                And yes, it’s true that as Christians, we should be prepared to mourn and to be poor in spirit, thirsty for righteousness, merciful, peaceful, and persecuted; while we are called to forgive and not seek revenge, for the sake of those who apply the principles of power in the name (but not practice) of moral principle, we must speak the truth. To tell them what they are doing is acceptable is to be codependent. It tells them the lie that they are justified and that we are wrong, and teaches them the lie that they are like God in our lives. 
                We must stand firm in our moral principles, without using the principles of power to protect ourselves. Not an easy task.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Shepherd!

                 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep . (John 10:14) God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” (Genesis 3:14) The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths     for his name’s sake. Even though I walk     through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil,     for you are with me; your rod and your staff,     they comfort me. (Psalm 23:1-4) For the Jews, it was politically incorrect to make claims about yourself as a teacher (or possibly as anything else.) Teachers were expected to take pride in the...
Post a Comment
Read more