By Ruth A. Sheets
Recently, a New Testament scripture reading was mine to consider for a sermon I was preparing. As supply pastor, I use the Common Lectionary for developing worship services and sermons for the churches where I substitute.
In this particular reading from Philippians, there is a note implying that God is at work in the members of the church at Philippi. It occurred to me to wonder, how does the writer know that? Christians believe that God is ever-present, but that does not necessarily mean that such presence guarantees that what is at work in a person, one’s motivation is what one says it is.
Whether one professes a formal faith or not, there should be some kind of guiding essence that lets one know what is the right thing to do in a given situation, one’s inspiration. I like to think of it as our moral compass. There should always be a “needle” pointing “North” so it is possible to get direction and perhaps some clarity as to why we have made the decision we chose.
It seems to me we all should be checking out our moral compass or code of ethics to see what is guiding our lives, regular check-ups. Certainly, something is doing the guiding so it is a good idea to know just what that is. Our actions are probably the best indicators of our guiding forces, so it behooves us to pay attention to what we say we stand for and what we do about it.
Are there words that give us pause and if used in connection with particular actions could help us know if we need to step away from an action or decision, offer an apology, or work to make amends? Some that come to my mind include: selfishness, anger, fear, resentment, hatred, unkindness, greed, dismissal, pain. Those words can be innocuous in certain situations. For example, sometimes we need to be selfish if we are being overworked, if we are ill, or if our family needs us. However if we are doing things that could harm others because we think we have a right to do it or because it feels good to us, it might not be an action that matches our ethics. Anger can do damage, but can also be a motivator pushing us to act on behalf of ourselves and others to right wrongs, to change an abusive situation, to secure rights for those who have been denied them. I suspect resentment, greed, and hatred have few if any positive outcomes.
Other words can let us know something positive is involved
in our ethical considerations. They may be pointing us in the way our
moral compass would direct. A few of my favorites are love, joy,
respect, care, peace, gratitude, honesty, kindness, integrity, listening,
understanding, knowledge, and generosity. If I think, is peace somewhere
in my action and the answer comes back “yes,” I am pretty sure I am at least
moving in the right direction. Then I need to ask, is this a positive
peace or an imposed peace?
A number of things that have arisen lately in our politics
and community life have led me to look at what it is that motivates our actions
and that this is a critical issue. Every day, decisions are being made
that impact one to millions of people and the judgement used in considering
each decision is often shaped by news media, social media, religious
pronouncements, money, power, and numerous other factors which can do damage
and are often not challenged.
We the People of the United States are now dealing with a political party, Republican, that does not seem to have our Constitution, our people, or anything else recognizable guiding its significant decisions. It is unclear what they stand for and they don’t seem to be in any hurry to let anyone in on the “secret.” Shutting down our government if they don’t get what they want seems to be a go-to attempt at motivating themselves and their supporters, but the end game is unclear.
The Supreme Court’s 2023-24 term opened yesterday and it has agreed to take on many cases that could do tremendous damage to our democracy. The feeding court is the 5th Circuit, an extreme collection of judges who think they have the right to take away people’s rights just because they are judges and for life. One of the judges declared a safe abortion and miscarriage drug illegal. He has no medical background, will never be pregnant, yet he thinks he has the right to make such a decision over ruling our FDA which does have medical experience and approved the drug more than 20 years ago knowing it had another 10+ years of high safety around the world. Now, the SC gets to decide the legality of an extremely safe FDA-approved drug, also with no medical knowledge. Because a bunch of conservatives don’t want women to be able to obtain abortions, the SC can outlaw a very safe drug? How did anyone have standing to bring such a case in the first place? The misogynists who brought the case, judge-shopped to find someone ignorant and misogynistic enough to be used? What is the guiding force, the magnet that draws the moral compass needle? It is probably a hatred or fear of women, but who will admit that. What happens if the Supreme Court agrees with the ignorant Texas judge and outlaws Mifepristone? What drugs will other folks want banned and for what reason? Should anyone go along with such a decision by the SC that has at best, no honest reason? Those of us who have a moral compass that says women have the right to make their own reproductive decisions will say, “no” the SC has overstepped. The decision has not yet been made, but it is coming.
A case the SC will hear this week is whether the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is legal. What! Congress passed this protection agency to help consumers who were taken advantage of by predatory banks and other financial institutions like credit card corporations and payday lenders. Those payday landers who have an extreme history of cheating and overcharging desperate, mostly poor customers brought the case. How can the CFPB be illegal when the payday lender reverse Robin Hood actions in poor communities are considered legal? The excuse for getting rid of the agency is that it is funded by financial institutions and should be paid for by annual congressional appropriations. What a bunch of nonsense, but the SC conservatives have proven over and over they care nothing for what the American people want or need. Only rich white folks and corporations’ desires count. We get the motivation of the payday lenders: greed, power, and more greed. What is the motivation of the SC conservative justices? Is it also greed, power, bribes, and more greed with a lifetime appointment power cherry on top?
Nearly all the actors in these cases and in the Republican party in general claim to be Christian, but it is not clear Christian principles are involved in the functioning of their decision-making. Lying is one of the “Thou shalt nots” included in the Ten Commandments, but despite Republican professed love for the Ten Commandments and the desire by many to post them in courthouses, schools, and other public buildings, lying is a major item in the Republican toolbox and is wielded daily, often, hourly with little or no challenge by their fellow conservative Christians. When lying is a “coin of the Republican realm,” what is the Party’s inspiration?
Perhaps it will help if We the People start demanding that our candidates identify at least some of the factors that are guiding their current actions and what they are likely to do when in office. However, just saying “I’m Christian” or Jewish or something else is not sufficient. Ask for their 5 top principles for living. Then, when they do not even try to live those principles they claimed to hold dear, call them out on it. We have come to expect so little of our representatives at all levels they don’t seem to feel they need to even have a moral compass that they follow, they go with whatever way the wind is blowing. Lying, misdirecting, and gaslighting are just what they do.
We must demand more of ourselves and more of those people we elect to represent us. Things will not improve by themselves because when no moral compass is functioning for an entire major political party, we all suffer. We must expect better and demand it.
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