In order to live comfortably with oneself, one must justify his conduct. This is true even of a hardened criminal. Those who work with them agree that the one uniform excuse they hear is that whatever crime they committed was justified, for one reason or another. However, once one becomes hardened to conduct that to them is pleasant or desirable, such that they want to continue it, then one concentrates on justifying the conduct and looking for excuses to disregard the rules or standards that prohibit it.
In todays world we contantly hear such nonsense as "if it feels good, do it." That is where one is led to if there are no standards to live by. We cannot let ourselves be governed by just feelings. One sees the results of such thinking all around in people who jump from one partner to another because of current feelings. Committment means nothing if someone else offers a more exciting feeling, no matter how transitory it may be.
One must be guided in this life by good behaviour, not conduct governed entirely by current feelings. Most mistakes, trivial and serious, are the result of actions taken because of the feelings of the moment rather than well considered actions that are guided by common sense. Behaviour must be dictated by adherence to well-tested standards of conduct.
We should ask ourselves: "Is the conduct I am contemplating something that will lead to lasting benefit to me and those around me, or is it conduct that will hurt me and those I love?" Conduct that involves the testing of substances or sexual practices that are known to be harmful, though they may be pleasant at the moment, can lead to the acquisition of a vice that takes over the persona and changes lives for the worse. We all know what vices are. They are bad habits that one becomes addicted to. Most of the time vices are easily recognized and rejected as undesirable and to be avoided. However, permissive tolerance can destroy the very fabric of society and lead to wide acceptance of what was once believed by all to be a vice to be avoided at all costs. Alexander Pope put it this way:
Vice is monster of so frightful mien,
As to be hated needs but to be seen;
Yet seen too oft, familiar with its face,
We first endure, then pity, then embrace.
Sure, we all make mistakes. Most of the time we correct ourselves before the mistake becomes a vice. That is what repentance is all about and why it is so emphasized in the scriptures. The great message of Christianity is that we can control our lives and conduct; we can change and become a better person guided by rules and standards that are immutable and unchangeable.
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7 comments:
Great message dad. Right on the mark. Excellent disquisition. Jan and I wholeheartedly agree with all you said. In a world where radical individualism, situational ethics, personal truth, or whatever you choose to call it is on the rise, those of us who, like you, stand for objective truth and morality will be ridiculed, despised and persecuted for our beliefs. We have found an excellent article on how "tolerance" has been hijacked and extorted into jibberish.
Keep up the great blog. We love to hear anything you have to say.
I love that quote! The scariest thing about what you've been describing is that once a vice is being embraced, society in general thinks it IS good for them and those around them. Once we lose our instinct for the absolute truth, we can justify anything into being "good" for everyone. We have to look at the big picture. What may feel good or right at the time (like tolerance or understanding) may be the most dangerous thing in the long run.
I think we have seen that a vice can really be anything that takes priority in your life. For example, television, shopping, eating, buying expensive things we don't need, etc. etc. So often I think that we as Christians don't realize that we all have vices. What you said is so true. It is sad because I have many close friends and others who have broken homes and other things because one person chose to make their "vice" priority over their family and loved ones.
Thanks Grandpa. When I see chaos around me, it helps me to think that there are rules and standards that are immutable and unchangeable. Absolute truth the out there for taking. It makes me feel like I'm not alone.
Freud tought that children’s sense of right and wrong comes merely from what they have been taught by their parents. “Their parents’ prohibitions and demands persist within them as a moral conscience,” he writes. Eventually, they introduce this whole system of rewards and punishments “unaltered into their religion.” God and His Commandments are thus simply a projection of parental authority.
C. S. Lewis, on the other hand, concedes that we learn the moral law, in part, from our parents and teachers, and that this helps develop our conscience. But that does not mean that the moral law is “a human invention.” Lewis explains that parents and teachers did not make up the moral law any more than they made up the multiplication tables they also teach us. He points out that some of what children learn from their elders “are mere conventions which might have been different—we learn to keep to the left of the road, but it might just have been the rule to keep to the right—and others of them, like mathematics, are real truths.” Mores and customs change with time; the moral law holds firm.
Correction to the above comment "Freud taught..."
Thanks, Barry. Great stuff. Darwin, Freud, what messes they caused. Oh well, opposition in all things. It's the only way we can learn and discern. Love that Lewis.
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