Friday October 28, 2016

 

A great many of those who ‘debunk’ traditional values have in the background values of their own which they believe to be immune from the debunking process. – CS Lewis

 

It was not too long ago when a person’s word was their bond. It use to be that people were measured first and foremost by their character and not by their accomplishments. However, there has been a shift from character as a priority to accomplishments and fulfillment as priorities. When accomplishments take precedence over character, we create a new and false standard of right and wrong and this is a problem. What is right is determined by one’s accomplishments and what is wrong are those things that hinder us from reaching our accomplishments. Thus, an entirely new standard of ethics and morality is created; what use to be right is now wrong. What once was wrong is now justified as being right and we choose being happy over doing the right thing.

 

When we prioritize accomplishments and happiness over character, we pay a heavy price. Nowhere is the price we pay more evident than in our relationships, because character is the component that allows us to interact with different people without destroying each other. Character is what keeps people married and the lack thereof often times causes them to drift apart. Character keeps friendships together but when we lack character, it causes us to betray one another including our closest friends. Character is the lubricant that allows us to interact with each other but without it, the friction of that interaction would cause even the best of friends to burn each other out.

 

Proverbs 11:3 NIV

The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.

 

Every decision we make is similar to a road in that every road has a beginning and a predetermined end. The same is true concerning our decisions; they too have a beginning and a predetermined end. The decisions a person of integrity makes are always clear. However, when a person lacks integrity one day they choose this road and the next day they choose another and the end result is typically disaster.

 

When accomplishments and fulfillment are the goal, we become a duplicitous society because what was moral and ethical yesterday is no longer moral or ethical today. Furthermore, what is ethical and moral today will no longer be ethical or moral tomorrow. However, when we have integrity we have the clarity to choose between what is right and what is wrong. When a person walks in integrity, the road they need to take is as clear as day.