Articles
Establishing a Moral Standard
I spoke with a young man, basically a Deist, regarding the establishment of morals and from whence they come, i.e., Why is murder considered immoral? Answer: I do not want someone killing “me” therefore murder is immoral. How individuals establish a moral compass is, well, quite interesting.
I spoke with a couple contemplating marriage: knowing a tad-bit about their history we referenced Matt. 19; Rom. 7; and 1 Cor. 13.
In both cases, as the conversations progressed, it was obvious that both parties had already determined what they constituted as acceptable, and/or non-acceptable, i.e., “All the ways of man are clean in his own eyes” (Prov. 16:2). Mankind generally operates on that premise when giving a reason for the hope that is in them, without the reality that “Jehovah weigheth the spirit” (Ibid.).
The knowledge of certain facts is often ignored by what men want to do, i.e., “There is a way which seemeth right unto man; but the end thereof are the ways of death.” The Lord gave mankind the freedom to exercise freewill. Joshua told Israel, “choose you this day whom ye will serve” (24:15). Choosing this or that is what we do. Twenty-five times in Deuteronomy, reference is made to what God, and/or Jehovah, chose to do or directed. In like manner, each individual choice man makes, even to minuteness of speech, will be brought into judgment: “every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment” (Matt. 12:36). The scriptures reveal that “The fear of Jehovah is to hate evil” (Prov. 8:13). With that in mind it follows that the Lord encourages mankind to “Depart from evil, and do good; Seek peace, and pursue it” (Psa. 34:14). Although doing good and hating evil should be a no brainer, the Lord said, “For my people are foolish, they know me not; they are sottish children, and they have no understanding; they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge” (Jer. 4:22). But, “to do good they have no knowledge” can be said of many when it comes to choosing this or that in life.
In answer to the young man’s moral compass regarding murder? “Not everyone shares your conclusion.” The history of the Aztecs, cannibal tribes in New Guinea, Fiji, and the Congo are sufficient evidence to the conclusion (not counting the senseless killings in the streets of the cities and nation within which we live).
It is, in my way of thinking, a general fact that if mankind becomes the standard of moral conduct, then the world is in for a rough ride. To see the tendency for that to be even a possibility is seen on the nightly news and the protests supporting the legalization of immoral conduct, i.e., abortion, same-sex marriages, and initiatives to legalize recreational drug use. In June 2018, Oklahoma legalized the cultivation of medical marijuana, and in four and half years, “Oklahoma is now a leading supplier of illegal marijuana in the U.S., according to the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics.”
There can be only one standard by which mankind establishes a moral compass and God has revealed that moral compass: “that through the commandment sin might become exceeding sinful” (Rom. 7:13). Ross
- Establishing_a_moral_compass.pdf (53.69 kB)
