Morality and Ethics

As soon as the subject of morality or ethics comes up, many people

immediately think of rules and prohibitions. This negative response is partly
the result of the fact that we humans simply do not like rules. It is also
partly from the misperception that church and religion are primarily about
prohibitions, as if church membership would prevent them from doing
anything that they would enjoy.
However, to understand vital and dynamic Christian living in terms of rules
and prohibitions is drastically to misunderstand the nature of the Christian
Gospel. Christian lifestyle is not simply or even primarily conformity to rules.
It is a living out in positive ways the transforming power of the gospel.
Married couples who care for each other deeply do not get up every morning
and moan about the fact that they cannot commit adultery that day. Their
marriage vows are not rules. They are expressions of the love that they
share. Faithfulness to each other in the marriage does not come because of
rules; it is positive outworking of the relationship. Growing Christians do not
simply obey rules; they live out the results of being a new creation in Christ.
So how do transformed people, new creations in Christ, make decisions and
live life differently than they used to? Here, we need to make a distinction
between morals and ethics. Morals are those abiding principles that are basic
and universal. These principles do not change with circumstances and are
the "baseline" from which all of life must be lived. For some people,
everything is a moral issue. In reality, however, there are only a few moral
principles that provide the basis for ethical decisions. For Christians, as well
as for Jews, the Ten Commandments provide that solid moral base. The New
Testament "royal law of love" is also a governing moral principle (John
Wesleys phrase from James 2:8; see Mark 12:30-31 and parallels). Even
these, however, should not be seen as simply rules. They are the positive
expression of relationship with God lived out in a real world. They are love of
God enacted in life.
Unless we live like a hermit, most of what we do on a daily basis involves
making ethical decisions. Ethics can be described as the way in which we

order our attitudes toward issues and situations that involve other people. It
can also refer to the actions that arise out of those attitudes. Ethics is how
we apply the unchanging moral principles to the changing and sometimes
ambiguous circumstances of day to day living. Ethical living involves making
decisions about attitudes and conduct in particular situations based on moral
principle. The Ten Commandments and the "royal law of love" are the moral
basis for ethical decisions. For people in the Wesleyan holiness tradition,
ethics are the highest expression of a heart in tune with God, because it is in
the interaction with other people that heart holiness can be best expressed.
For holiness people, "ethics" is just another way of saying "holy living."
A clear understanding of the moral principles and how we let them affect our
daily lives is crucial for Christians who want to grow in their faith. It is also
important to speak of them as principles rather than laws or rules. Life is too
complex and fluid to be able to cover everything with rules even if we
wanted to. The Pharisees were notorious for trying to add law upon law to
cover every circumstance in life. Their efforts were futile and had destructive
effects. Sadly, the same tendency to reduce relationship with God to
conformity to rules is common in some Christian circles. We cannot make
enough rules fast enough to cover all aspects of being Christian in a rapidly
changing world. So we must be able to apply the principles that guide our
Christian existence to the changing circumstances of life.
The question is, how do we make these ethical decisions as Christians?.
First, we can consider some common ways of making ethical decisions that
are inadequate expressions of a Christian lifestyle.
Emotion. For some people, emotion or feeling is a major gauge in relating
to others. This is the idea of "If it feels good, do it." The basis for the
decision is what a person wants or needs to make them feel good at the
moment. This is a totally self-centered approach that allows us to use others
to meet our own physical or emotional needs.
Expediency. Some people are more pragmatically oriented than others.
They make ethical decisions based on "what works" and say, "The end

justifies the means." They are willing to do whatever is necessary to reach a

goal or accomplish a task, regardless of the impact on other people.
Consequences. A common attitude among children, or even among adults
who are emotionally immature, is to avoid negative consequences. This
approach makes ethical decisions based on whether it results pleasure or
avoids pain. This can have two aspects. One attitude is that an action is
acceptable "as long as I dont get caught." The other perspective is to avoid
anything that might bring pain or discomfort, or require extra effort or cost.
Rules. Some people want the Bible or some other authority, like a book of
church disciple or a person in authority, to spell out in black and white every
rule that would govern every conceivable action before they can make
ethical discussions. While both the Bible and church documents do provide
guidelines for ethical actions, they do not and cannot cover every
circumstance. Too often, people then assume that since there is no specific
rule governing a certain situation, then there is no restriction on what can be
done in that situation. Unfortunately, people then either follow their own
often selfish instincts or they allow their prejudices to govern their behavior
rather than seeking an authentically Christian course of action. People who
need a rule for every possible situation have not yet learned to apply biblical
principles to their lives and are immature decision makers.
Situation. All ethics involves making decisions in particular circumstances.
However, to have no guidelines beyond the immediate situation is to have no
reference point at all. It is a total relativism that says things like, "I know
whats best for me," or "You dont understand my situation." The decision
depends totally on what a person thinks is best to meet the immediate
situation.

How to make holy decisions

So, if those are the inadequate ways to make decisions, what are the
adequate ones? First, lets consider some larger issues, some boundaries
within which we live in relationship to God, that will help shape our decision
making process.

As Christians. Since moral principles are unchanging and universal,

morality is not restricted to Christians. There are people who make no claim
to be Christian who live decent, moral lives. However, our concern is how we
live as Christians. Here there must be a genuine commitment to allow our
faith and belief in God, the transforming presence of God in our life, and the
regeneration of our whole being through Christ to work itself out into
everything we do. How we handle circumstances or relate to people should
reflect our commitment to Christ and should reflect who we are as
Christians.
Ethics of the Kingdom. Paul said, "Walk in a manner worthy of your
calling." (Phil 1:27). In other words, "Live a lifestyle that reflects who you
are." Since we live out relationships with others as Christians, that lifestyle
should reflect the model that we have in Christ, living by a different value
system and a different standard of behavior than is dominant in our culture
(see The Poured-Out Life). The "ethics of the kingdom" calls us to look out
for the needs of others ahead of our own needs (Phil 2:4), to love our
neighbor as ourselves (Luke 10:27), and even to lay down our own life for
another (John 15:13).
Biblical Principles. For Protestants, the Bible is the primary source of our
beliefs and actions as Christians. It cannot be a rule book for our actions,
but does provide guides and helps to holy living. As such, Scripture
repeatedly and often calls us to practice justice toward the helpless and
weak, to demonstrate selfless love for others, and to live life prudently
before God (Micah 6:8). As noted earlier, the Ten Commandments give us
some moral absolutes, examples of what this kind of living would do in real
life. The Bible does not have all the answers in intimate detail of every
ethical question that could ever be asked. That would make it simply a rule
book. But the moral principles are there, as well as numerous examples of
that kind of love in action. It is up to use to learn how to use them to live a
transformed life in Christ.
The real question, then, is "How?" How do we make ethical decision in
particular situations as Christians? There are no easy answers here. But

there are some guidelines that may be helpful. These all have their roots in
Scripture.
Will this compromise faith and commitment to God? This is the
standard of righteousness and loyalty, which must always be a primary
consideration. If we are going to act like Christians, then no attitude we hold
or anything we do can compromise that commitment to God. This does not
simply mean obedience to anything that we might think is Gods rule. The
idea here is that our attitudes and resulting actions cannot interfere with
loyalty to God on any level.
What would Christ do? This is the standard of the mind of Christ (Phil
2:5). A good test of any action is to allow the light of Christs example to
shine on it.
The potential problem here is that we sometimes have a very narrow view of
Jesus. We sometimes see him as a somber, monk-like figure who avoids all
pleasure, and so we conclude that "good" ethics steers us away from any
enjoyment of life. Yet, in the Gospels we see Jesus attending parties,
laughing with children, and enjoying the company of others. He comments
about beautiful flowers and buildings, and enjoys music. It is mainly in his
positive response to people who have desperate needs, or in his negative
response to religious hypocrisy, that we see Jesus modeling a different
lifestyle. Sometimes it is much easier to have a high standard of ethics that
relate to things than it is to have an equally high standard that reflects how
Jesus treated people.
How will this affect others? This is the standard of community and
attitudes toward others. We live in a society dominated by individualistic
ways of thinking. This makes it difficult for many people to consider the
implications of their attitudes and actions for a larger group. However, what
is good or acceptable for the individual may not always be good for the
larger group.
This does not mean that we have to be slaves to majority opinion. It does
mean that we cannot have an attitude that demands personal "rights" at the

expense of the well-being of others. The heart of a servant does not look
inward to personal rights; it looks outward to the needs of others.
Is it fair to everyone involved? This is the standard of justice and love of
others. Justice is more than people getting what they deserve. More often in
biblical usage justice refers to fairness and equity in treatment of those who
are powerless to defend themselves against injustice. A college student
reported that he quit a badly needed summer sales job because he was
trained to use high pressure tactics to sell a product to people who did not
need it and who could not really afford it. People of God are often called to
accountability for how they have treated the powerless and marginal people
around them.
How will it affect who I am? This is the standard of integrity. This may be
a difficult question to answer. We cannot always directly tell how our actions
affect us. Yet, it is still an important question to keep in mind, if for no other
reason than to remind ourselves constantly that how we think and who we
are comes out in what we do. And what we do also shapes how we think.
The person who, for example, cheats ever so slightly on their income tax has
undermined their own character. If a crack in a wall is not repaired, more
pressure simply widens the crack.
Is it reasonable? This is the standard of reason and responsibility.
Scripture often calls us to be wise in making decisions. Since God has
created our mind and intellect, he expects us to use it to evaluate
circumstances, situations, people, and the impact of particular actions. God
has entrusted us as Christiansto make ethical decisions using biblical moral
principles and solid ethical guidelines, all submitted under His Lordship in our
lives. This is at the heart of Wesleyan holiness theology. God expects us to
use the freedom that His grace has allowed us to live a lifestyle that reflects
His nature and His heart. This is the essence of the call for His people to be
holy, as He is holy (Lev 11:45).

The Second Mile

Much of what we have been considering relates to developing ethical
attitudes and making decisions in response to circumstances of life. This is

important for Christian holy living. However, much biblical teaching concerns
not just the avoidance of evil or the meeting of circumstances. Gods people
are called to go beyond avoiding the bad things to the point of actively
engaging the world as servant of God. We are called to go the second mile,
to live out the implications of being redeemed and transformed people of
God in positive ways. If we listen carefully to Jesus teachings and watch his
actions in the gospels, we will quickly conclude that this goes far beyond
witnessing to people.
In Johns Gospel, one of the last instructions Jesus gave his disciples was
that they should love one another (John 13:34f). Jesus had just washed the
disciples feet. He had modeled for them the servant attitude they were to
live out as his followers (13:5-17). They were to reflect the servant lifestyle
that not only talked about serving others, but did it. The other Gospels also
call for followers of Jesus to "go the second mile." Matthew talks of visiting
people who are sick and in prison, feeding the hungry, and clothing the
naked (Matt 25:31-46). He also reports Jesus teaching of tolerance and
forgiveness, calling us to bemore than just and fair with people who have
been less than fair with us (5:38-48). Mark and Luke both tell us that Jesus
went out of his way to contact and to help people who were not respectable
in normal society: lepers, immoral women, members of other ethnic groups,
cripples, the poor.
All through both Testaments, Gods people are called to practice "justice."
For our modern western culture, this often means judging and condemning,
making sure people pay for wrongs done, usually for wrongs done to us. The
biblical idea, however, is nearly the opposite. We are called to make sure
that we, as Gods people, go out of our way to treat other people well, even
if it means that we may not be treated fairly. In many cases, "justice" comes
close to what we mean by compassion. That is why when Micah answers the
question, "What does the Lord require of us?" his answer combines "practice
justice" with "love mercy" (Mic 6:8). To paraphrase a famous quotation: ask
not what others can do for you; ask what you can do for others.
The truth is that a Christian lifestyle reflects a heart warmed by the love of
God that turns outward to love others. Christians are not required to live by

rules and regulations. At this point, Paul talks of freedom from such stifling
laws (Gal 2-3; see The Role of the Law in Galatians 3:19-25). Living as
Christians, however, means that we are constrained by love. That is far
more liberating, and at the same time far more demanding, than any set of
rules could ever be. God does not demand that we love. That is a
contradiction in terms. In Jesus, He has modeled for us what true love will
do, and how far it will go. He has then called us to follow His example. There
is risk in that. We become vulnerable when we risk living such a lifestyle.
That is why Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote of costly discipleship. But as Wesley
rediscovered, there is really no other way to live out being authentically
Christian.
When we have the heart of Christ, the world will recognize it. And people will
not be surprised when we tell them are Christians. They will say that "act
like it."