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"Does having an extramarital affair mean that a government
official is unfit to hold office?" This and related questions have been the
focus of the U.S. news media throughout the summer of 2001. Is the subject newsworthy,
or is it just gossip? The debate swirling around the subject illustrates a growing
phenomenon-partitioning morality. What does it portend for the future? by Cecil E. Maranville How are people deciding right and wrong? It's human nature
to attempt to cover and justify immoral behavior, at the same time as wanting to
be well thought of. The excuse that's offered is: "Look at the good deeds that
have been done, not at the few mistakes." "Yes, I told a lie-but I do not steal!" "Yes,
I committed adultery-but at least, I am honest about it!" Human nature might
be comical to observe, if the subject weren't so serious. We would immediately recognize
the foolishness of offering such a defense in a criminal court. "Yes, your honor,
I embezzled the money. And, since I am honest about my crime, I expect the court
to let me go free." Why do people think that moral crimes, a.k.a. sin, should be
so readily brushed aside? To listen to the reporting of the American media, you would
think that morality is by majority rule. That's not to imply that everyone "shoots
from the lip" on the subject of right and wrong, although many do. Many reasonable
people weigh their thoughts with care before they speak-and some of them speak eloquently.
But whether our arguments are brash or brilliant, can we decide for ourselves what
is moral and what is not? The United States and its mother country, Great Britain, were
once inhabited by people who believed in God and practiced their faith. They lifted
their eyes to the heavens to ask God for bountiful crops and for rescue from their
enemies. They bowed their heads and gave sincere thanks for the blessings that they
received. Because of their reverence for God, many sought to let His standard govern
their behavior. Of course, there are people who still believe in God and practice
their faith. Additionally, legislative sessions still begin with a chaplain's intoned
prayer for God's guidance and many politicians still sprinkle their speeches with
a deferential nod to the divine. But, increasingly, the previously clear definition of morality
has dimmed, whether the question is how to judge a politician's peccadilloes or deciding
moral behavior in one's own life. Prophecy of parsing morality Jesus Christ made an incisive observation about how human nature
will cause people to parse morality. To the people of His day, He said, you mention
God's name in ceremonies and imprint it on your currency; you invoke His name when
you're desperate for emergency relief. But, just as easily as His name rolls off
your tongue for His blessing on your deeds and His help with your needs, His judgments
on what is right and wrong are nudged aside by your opinions. You partition off what
you are not willing to do, replacing God's instruction with your own opinions. Whether
you mean well is not the issue, but rather whether you do well. For, in partitioning
yourself off from God's words, you partition yourself off from His favor. When reporting the same prophecy as Matthew, Mark recorded,
"For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of menÖ"
(Mark 7:8). How does this relate today? Do you know anyone who would so blatantly
turn his back on God? Sure, there are people who coarsely declare their hostility
toward religion, but most Americans and many other citizens of the world still profess
a belief in God. Think of Mark's words in the modern context. Is there any evidence
that people have substituted their own opinions for God's standard of morality? The
evidence is all around us. The "thou shalt nots" have been replaced with
"according to the latest opinion poll on that subjectÖ" or with "personally,
I don't agree, becauseÖ." Learning "the latest" opinion, especially in the
entertainment and political arena (and they are sometimes inseparable) has become
an obsession. Learning "the best" opinion, that is, the Creator's, has
become obsolete. This phenomenon is not unique to our time. Acts 17:21 reports
the Greek Areopagus of the first century was occupied with people from all over the
world who spent their time in the sole pursuit of gathering and giving their opinions
about "new things." Instead of tuning in to the TV news or logging on to
the Internet for their information, they traveled to the Acropolis to hear opinions
and to give theirs. Addressing them, Paul noted they were quite religious. In seeming
incongruity, he also described them as groping for God. How can one be religious
and not be able to clearly see or hear God? We witness the same phenomenon today.
Unwilling to have their behavior challenged or changed by God, people have built
a partition between their lips and their hearts. God's name is on the former, but His words are not in the latter. Time to tear down that wall "Truly," Paul said to the audience on Mars' Hill, "these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent" (verse 30). God historically has not forced all peoples to live His way of life. Instead, He has allowed nations, communities and individuals
to deliberate and debate their opinions, deciding their own course of action. He's
allowed all who wanted to experiment with implementing their ideas on right and wrong
to do so. Why would He take such an approach? Simply, like any wise parent,
He knows that some lessons are only going to be learned by experience, and He steps
back for the good of His children. But, for the good of His children, He will step
in to revoke His tolerance of their immaturity at the needed time. His call to "repent,"
for the human family to turn around, comes when it should. So, when is "now"?; When is it time for Him to say,
"I'm no longer going to allow you to partition between using My name and actually
doing what I say"?; When will He declare, "I am no longer going to allow
you to pretend that you are moral, simply by partitioning off wrong behavior and
calling yourself good"?; "Now" is now. Oh, the skies have not yet been split to open the gateway for Christ to return to judge every man for his actions, but the announcement of His approach goes out in advance of His issuing the summons to appear before His court of justice. People who are truly wise will tear down the wall they have built between the lips that drop God's name and the hearts that do their own thing. wnp
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Table of Contents that includes "Partitioning Morality"
Other Articles by Cecil Maranville
Origin of article "Partitioning Morality"
Keywords: morality ten commandments
Morality: