I call Rule #4 DO THE RIGHT THING, but I guess it's really about integrity. Being true to who I am. Now, I think there's a huge distinction between doing the right thing according to someone else's standards and doing the right thing based on how I feel. In fairness, the two are usually the same, but if the motivation for doing the right thing is because I feel it is the right thing, my words thoughts and actions are genuine. If I do the right thing because religion, peer groups or anyone else says its the right thing, I am acting out of a base of fear. Fear of punishment, fear of someone else's opinion of me, fear of consequences.
My integrity is the foundation on which I stand. When I am true to myself, I feel no guilt. When I am true to myself, I feel pride in who I am. When I am true to myself, I feel good. When I allow my feelings to guide me, I do the right thing and honestly, by anyone's standards.
Rule #1 - I AM RESPONSIBLE
Rule #2 - ALWAYS BE KIND
Rule #3 - DON'T HOLD A GRUDGE
Rule #4 - DO THE RIGHT THING
I liked rule 1 and 3... i disagree with this one. Saying you always know the right thing to do implies everyone knows the right thing to do, and that's not necessarily true. The dude in CT believed in what he did. Jeffery Dahmer and Charlie Manson consistently said they believed they were doing the right thing. Many places in Africa they mutilate women's privates to make sure they stay virgins. Who are you to say you are right and they aren't?
ReplyDeleteFollowing a religion isn't out of fear, it is out of humility... knowing that the individual doesn't know everything about how to be a good person. The precepts of the religion give objective guidance to a universal truth of how to act. The closer to that universal truth we act, the happier we are. If we rely on ourselves, we will always be tainted by self interest. In fact, we believe we are always right if we just act by how we feel... and we know that's not true.
Jay, God gave us all free will and a conscience to guide us. I am not against religion, instead I am for using the gifts God has given us. There is a difference between doing what you want and doing what you know is right. No matter what the murderers you mention say, I trust that God gave them the same sense of right and wrong that He gives all of us. The truth is, most religions give us the same rules to live by that we know in our hearts to be true, but what about those religions that encourage war and death? I am certain that a terrorist acting in the name of religion has a concience and knows his actions are wrong, but chooses to follow what he believes his religion is telling him to do. My belief is that our motivation for our words and actions should be based on what we know to be right because our God given conscience tells us. I in no way am saying we should do what we WANT to do, but rather what we know to be right based on how we feel.
ReplyDeleteConscience is formed, not stagnant. If it wasn't, there wouldn't be so many moral grey areas. Look at the western world alone, with abortion, homosexuality, social responsibility, even something as simple as daily choices. Two people trying to do the right thing could easily do two different things. The natural law resides in our soul, and our flawed conscience interprets it for us.
ReplyDeleteReligions formed by those who earnestly seek this universal truth do trend to the same virtues, and they are humble enough to know that just because they feel something is right doesn't make it right. When a religion is formed and followed by those with different motivations, it is obvious very quickly.
Also, if we only rely on ourselves to learn without the knowledge of wiser people before us in religions, we will never progress as a race. It's like math. If we all have to rediscover addition, how long would one person have to live to discover calculus, and what do we do when he dies?
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