Morality

Moral Perfection

Dr. Mike 2023 , , ,

Matthew 5:48

You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

What is your standard of morality? How do you determine what is good? Who establishes the moral compass in your life? Where do you discover the best moral practices for your life? Why is morality even important?

We live in a time of vast knowledge and accomplishments. Today’s enterprises make past historical periods obsolete. Whether science, technology, agriculture, construction, medicine, education, or commerce, every field of study has made an immense contribution to the human experience. Yet people still cannot get along with each other. Nations still go to war with other countries. Couples who yesterday could not live without each other, now hate and despise one another. And even family members and next-door neighbors rarely speak with those closes to them.

Generally speaking, as a people, we are highly knowledgeable of the material world around us. But at the same time, we are spiritually blind and depressed. We are the outcome of our own doing but blame others around us for our problems. We willingly accept the lies thrown our way because they make us feel in control and important. Instead of accepting a universal standard which works for all sides, we rather fight for our “rights” as we determine what those “rights” are. Justice is subjective to our ideal. There is no objective criteria everyone can agree too.

Enter Jesus.

When HE arrived on the scene the Roman empire was in power. Beside the Jewish community, the religious establishments included Caesar as lord, houses of sexual worship, and many other gods for your choosing. Entertainment included large crowds gathered to watch lions slaughter humans, and athletes fighting each other to the death. A world where the strong devoured the weak.

Under such a domain Jesus came along and began to preach the good news of the kingdom of God. His teaching was revolutionary for the people and culture of the time. The same is still true today.

When HE set the goal of moral perfection based on HIS heavenly Father as the objective standard of measurement, HE blew apart the minds of his listeners. They were satisfied with their self-righteous attitude keeping the Law given to Moses. Jesus not only emphasized the behavior aspects but also raised the bar to include one’s attitude and mental thought. Who could live up to such a standard?  

Jesus’ set the bar very high for his disciples: Perfection as measured by God Himself.

Impossible, you say?

Do you think Jesus would expect something from his students that they couldn’t achieve?

The bar is high because God’s purpose for you and I is higher than we can imagine.

God’s macro-objective is to raise a family who will join HIM in his work of governing a universe. He expects HIS children to imitate HIM throughout the world. And HE always provides the means and resources for HIS people to abide and fulfill HIS desires.

For those who accept HIS vision and purpose, HE provides HIS Spirit and strength to live within you. As we submit to HIS authority, yielding our carnal desires to HIS divine nature, HE leads us toward a fuller life patterned after Jesus Christ.

Our goal is to become perfect in relationships with HIM and all those around us. HE becomes our universal standard of perfection. We model our life around (Eph 5:1) HIM. When others join HIM in the same quest, the world becomes more reflective of HIS attributes and less prone to chaos, confusion, and evil.

We cannot become perfect unless HIS perfection lives in us. HE is the goodness we seek and yearn after. When HE is allowed to live HIS life in us and through us, we will then see the road to perfection become real. Until then, we are fooling ourselves and destructively playing god in his place.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager, Faith-Integrator, Scribbler

Available for Your Devotional Study: 

Encourage a Friend…Share Today’s Message!

Copyright 2013-Present | Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved

Morality     

Dr. Mike 2022 , , ,

Deuteronomy 30:15-20

 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil.  If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them,I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess.  I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore, choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

Morality is the glue that allows humanity to function in freedom, to flourish, and find fulfillment in life. But morals built on human preferences rather than Godly character destroys lives and causes destruction between people and tribes and nations.

Morality is built upon values. When values become distorted and are rearranged in priority for a few elitists, harm falls upon the majority of remaining people. Healthy values are God-given and are objective for all people to adhere too.

The most life changing values ever expressed are found in the Bible. Initially the Old Testament reveals the Ten Commandments. These 10 values prioritize the boundaries and conditions of how people can best live independently and collectively for the sake of all. When one of these values are broken, people suffer. The sufferer may be an individual, a couple, a group, or a large community, but someone is always hurt when one of these values are ignored.

In the New Testament, Jesus expanded on these Ten with an emphasis on the attitude and spirit rather than just on the outer behavior.    

In the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses wrote how keeping these Ten along with the policies and principles built from these Ten, one could successfully live within a culture and prosper as a family, tribe, and nation. Though this promise was to Israel when they were about to enter the promise land after 400 years of slavery, the same words apply today. God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Whether you are a Gentile or Jew from birth, Jesus Christ has united us into one race – the human-to-become-eternal race.   

Let’s learn from the historical Biblical records of yesterday rather than repeat the same mistakes over and over again. Ignorance isn’t bliss when reality hits you in the face. The Biblical nation of Israel has a long history of demonstrating what policies work and don’t work to have a successful life. Maybe you and I can learn some of them to integrate into our lives to make this journey more productive and significant than it is today.

When you make God the central foundation of your life and follow HIS decrees, and your neighbor does likewise, you and they are going to enjoy life the way HE originally intended humanity to experience. God’s way allows each person to experience personal and collective freedom by mutually respecting each other’s boundaries. By building a foundation on the Triune God, and trusting HIS plan for humanity, you and I are now given the privilege to experience HIS same divine grace today.

So, why not put HIM to the test? Or what are you afraid to discover about yourself, others, or HIM?

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager & Author of e-Books

 *  Dancing With God: Life-Giving Theology Explained
 *  Great Business Emulates a Good God
 *  Be Radical…Follow Christ!
 *  Simply The Messenger
 *  Unequally Married

Encourage a Friend…Share Today’s Message!

Good and Evil

Dr. Mike 2021 , 
Romans 16:19
…but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil.

How do you determine what is good and what is evil? What is the basis of your knowledge? How do you justify your standards of judgement?

Without a real God, your basis and mine is only an opinion. Only a Being who is always naturally good has the qualifications to determine what is and is not good. Otherwise, your view is only as good as the next person.

What human do you know is always good? Always makes the good decision? Always says the good word in a time of need? Always leaves you impressed with the goodness that flows from them? I know no such person.

I know many who believe they are good. They compare themselves with others and though admit they are not perfect; they believe they are better than most.  They create standards of righteousness which they themselves cannot adhere too but expect others to live by. And when people don’t live up to their standards, they feel superior in their ability to live such a holy life.

History has demonstrated, when one loses contact with the living God, one becomes isolated and empty of the love of God. When the love of God is not freely allowed to be activated within a person, that person lives a life of darkness; searching for goodness, but never actually experiencing the power from within. The end result is evil behavior.

Evil is simply the absence of goodness. Just as cold is the absence of heat and darkness is the absence of light, so is evil the absence of good. The evil heart is absent of goodness. Goodness is the basis of God’s character; including love and joy. When God is allowed full access into a person’s inner being, His attributes become alive within one’s attitude and values. The end result is behavior which produces goodness in the world.

The Bible lists acts of goodness and evil. The history of mankind is a record of good behavior and bad behavior. The inspired writings throughout the Bible gives knowledge to mankind on how to properly relate and produce goodness in one’s actions. The source of that knowledge is God himself.

You and I can argue all day long on what is good and what is evil. Neither of us is an authority on what is good or evil. But God IS. He designed life which is an outgrowth of HIS character. Only HE has the absolute authority to determine good from evil. So, if you want to have the same knowledge and be able to sort through the garbage that our culture calls good, start by reading the Book. And likewise, ask God to give you the Spirit of discernment to separate the good from the evil, and the character to act upon that basis. And as you grow in maturity, you will come to know HIM who deserves all worship and help HIM become known to others through your good actions and words.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager & Author of e-Books

 *  Dancing With God: Life-Giving Theology Explained
 *  Great Business Emulates a Good God
 *  Be Radical…Follow Christ!
 *  Simply The Messenger
 *  Unequally Married

Encourage a Friend…Share Today’s Message!

Copyright 2013-Present | Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved