Getting a thick(er) view of ethics
Gorillaz – Feel Good Inc. (Album Crossfade)
Those who lean right tend to focus on personal holiness issues. Lefties tend to focus on communal justice issues. We can peg ourselves on one extreme if we a) care about one type and not the other and b) think true morality is simply an ‘either/or’ instead of a ‘both/and’ when dealing with individual & corporate issues. The God of the Bible is portrayed as ‘both/and’, Jesus was ‘both/and’ — so, shouldn’t we be as well?
My experience and reading of culture tells me that evangelicals often have a largely individualistic view of morality & ethics, sometimes reducing the inquiry almost exclusively to matters of personal holiness. What it means to be good or bad usually goes like this: “I don’t cheat on my taxes” or, “I told a lie” or, “I have sex in the correct ways”. I agree, but let me push back…
I know many (Christians) who are deeply (and rightly) grieved by immoral sex or pride or so on. But when it comes to serious structural problems (inequality, hunger…), these same folks are as calm as Hindu cows, saying something like, “God is sovereign in this fallen world. Now the stage is better set for ‘Left Behind’-end-times events to come true…get excited!!!” (Sarcasm) But, does God’s sovereignty change from one issue to another? I mean, doesn’t the scripture seem to grieve about it all, longing to have shalom and a “reconciliation of all things” in addition to a world free of personal sin? Was Jesus serious with, “may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven?” And if so, why are some eager to see the arrival of personal holiness and apathetic about corporate issues of justice; why the disconnect & what are the consequences?
Selfishness & missing reality/scope of God’s will
Could it be that ‘the self’ is at the center of our conscience, as opposed to God and my neighbor being at the center? What if personal righteousness is actually an even broader concept? I’m tempted to riff on “moral proximity”, the parable of the Good Samaritan, James 4:17 & not being in “the know”, but for the sake brevity I’ll refrain.
Missing opportunities to share/show Jesus
We Christians can be part of the effort & dialog shared by those seeking justice. The worldview of non-Christians who feel who the world is broken have a point of intersection with us because we think that too. That common ground of fixing brokenness is priceless.
Also, could it be that in a postmodern-ish paradigm, one of the Christian’s strongest “arguments” to validate the faith, is his or her love of justice? Doesn’t a blessing given with no-strings-attached just smell of Jesus? As an ambassador, articulate precision about what constitutes justice and visible demonstrations of grace are not only a hell of PR campaign for the King, but also a visible way to associate good (b/c every good & perfect gift comes from Him anyway) with His majesty.
In short, if the crux of our lives are informed by what Scot McKnight calls “The Jesus Creed” or what J.R. Woodward calls the Holistic Gospel, instead of the American dream, we’ll be on our way to getting a thick(er) view of ethics.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 at 8:56 pm and is filed under Christianity, ethics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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on October 28th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
I think there are some good points here, but I’m getting lost in generalities. Do you have any specific suggestions or examples of things folks can do to live out what you are talking about? Sometimes I find it hard to precisely pinpoint specific action points in my life and move forward, especially when it is not a natural point of emphasis for me. I’ve seen that you have a huge passion for helping those in need, I would love to hear the ways in which that has propelled you to take action. I’m not asking you to brag yourself up, but it’s always good to connect the philosophy of an idea with a ground level view.
-Jer
on October 29th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
Good question Jer, I totally hear ya. I start with the assumption that a change of heart/mind will always precede a change in behavior, I think that’s why I’m abstract so often.
But practical things could look things like:
- Giving money to UNICEF, the Lansing Food Bank, or non-profit organizations like I’ve linked under the “Do Good” heading on my blogroll.
- Buying fair-trade and boycotting Wal-Mart and other corporations that profit from oppressive labor practices.
- Also, the trips like the ones I’ve done with Riv to Mexico or Minneapolis have had a wonderful emphasis on housing, education, and family systems; all these combat the systemic nature of poverty. And basically everything that Back2Back Ministries does is ethically “thick” and could use supporters & willing souls.
- Give a needy/broken car-person a ride (which now that think about could get me murdered and should stop this)
- Buy homeless people food, don’t give cash!
…These are simple ways we can directly “bite” at the issue. But, I also think it’s good to “bark” about these issues to educate people. Consumers and voters have so much untapped potential to shape policy, primarily because we’re in the dark.
- Influence gov’t (calling a Senator): Gov’t can address, worsen, or ignore inequalities by setting up programs or regulating a fallen world. It’s amazing how the New Deal helped people since the Great Depression or how benevolent programs give people a more level playing field…and then, on the other side of the coin, it’s amazing to see how de-regulation has privileged a few at the expense of so many and effectively widened the gaps between the rich and poor.
A quick and very incomplete thought,
xoxo