Ep.1351: What Defines Moral Behavior? (Part II) God-Driven Direction
Properly managing our varied Christian perspectives of right and wrong
CHAPTERS
Theme Scripture: Proverbs 2:6-7
Morality can be a tricky thing. For the most part, humans do want to behave in a moral fashion. The tricky thing is figuring out how to actually define what qualifies as "moral behavior" and what does not. As Christians, this task of defining is supposed to be easier than for most, because we have God’s word as our clear foundation for our moral principles. I say "it’s supposed to be easier" because Christianity has demonstrated for thousands of years that claiming the name of Christ is far from a guarantee of moral behavior. So, what are we supposed to do with this? How do we take what God has clearly given us in His word and live it daily? How do we handle it when fellow Christians see aspects of God’s moral principles in a different light that we do?
Clearly, I'm right and you're wrong.
Disagreements about right and wrong regarding morals are surprisingly plentiful among Christians. Usually, the big glaring issues like not killing, not stealing and not bearing false witness are relatively easy to agree upon. That changes when we get down to the more personal and detailed aspects of life. In these grey areas, the subtlety of choosing this path or that one often comes down to personal perspective. It’s not just what I see that influences me, it’s also how I feel about what I see. How I feel and what I do can be very different that how you feel and what you do. Now what?
The Apostle Paul is brilliant on this dilemma.
In several of his letters, he taught us how to find the objective truth of our morals by solely focusing on God’s word. He taught us to firmly embrace and hold onto these clear moral truths. He then taught us how and when to take these sacred principles out of our central focus and consider more subjective human reasoning instead. Wait a minute, did Paul REALLY teach us to consider subjective sinful human conclusions as a primary focus? Yes, he did! However, before we get all tied up in knots, let’s put this in perspective.
Check out our September 16, 2024 podcast, “What Defines Moral Behavior? Part II” for details. We look at two full chapters in the apostle’s writings. These chapters address real, everyday issues in the lives of early Christians that were triggering and divisive. His approach was simple: From God's perspective, state the truth of whatever matter is being argued over. Next, pause and consider how your brother or sister in Christ is able to comprehend it. Has their life experience made this particular issue traumatic in any way? Does their background hinder them from seeing things through the same lens of Christian liberty others may be using?
Join us as we unravel this fascinating collection of principle, compassion, wisdom, humility and love. Our Christian morals - especially within our own brotherhood - must be driven by the highest God-honoring way in which we can support and include our fellow disciples. While this may not be easy, it is certainly well worth the effort!
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