How do I know if something is broken?
(The purpose of morality)
Jesus doesn't come to make bad people good, he came to make dead people alive ( RZIM)
Every time I break the moral code, like the nervous system responding to a cut in my skin, my spirit alerts me to something broken. Every time I walk in truth to that moral code I am walking in the purpose for which I was designed for.
My prayer to Jesus is to teach and show me how to embody love.
"It never fails, always hopes always perseveres, does not hold to grudges, is not easily wronged, is not bitter"
The response is not to try and be a more morally right person so that I can earn and acclaim favour and reciprocated love based on my level of "goodness", rather that I may be transformed from the inside out from an intrinsic desire to walk in truth and love and in doing so, walk WITH my Heavenly Father's presence than away from it.
A man who continues to break that moral code and in doing so numbs his soul to the distance from God's presence eventually says in his heart - there is no God, and i am the measure of all things. Eventually like leprosy, he cuts off his body and self destructs - his wife leaves him, his children don't want to be with him, his friends are scarce or even worse he has devastated his children's lives to a similar lifestyle.
But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. (Romans 5:8 NLT)
"Why does a man honor his vows? Why does a woman honor her vows? Is it to earn the love of their spouse, or is it to demonstrate the sacredness of their love? True love engenders a life that honors its commitment. That is the role of obedience to God’s moral precepts—putting hands and feet to belief, embodying the nature of what one’s ultimate commitment reflects—the very character of God."
http://www.rzim.org/just-thinking/threads-of-a-redeemed-heart/
I want us to rethink morality and the purpose of it, so that (hopefully) we understand it's function and the outcomes of it. It really is one of the most unqiue metaphysical aspects to humanity above all species.
Too often i can droop into a falsehood of propping myself up by my viewpoint that being a morally right person is "good enough" or like the prodigal son's brother, subtley but erroneously thanking God that i do not act like "them" and have earned favour and righteousness with God.
This is where the alternate religions or the East and Middle East are poles apart concerning morality. For them morality is a demonstration something is broken but that one can "work" their way out of the mess they are in or by hoping thay "God the merciful" is having a good day and is merciful that your good deeds outweight your bad ones.
And then there is the atheistic world where on one side they get very angry about injustices yet jettison that morality when it comes to their own life and state "who are you to judge me!?!" It's as if it's a play thing. Whimsical as teenage love.
This kinda sums up the purpose of morality:
As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous— not even one. No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.” “Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with lies.” “Snake venom drips from their lips.” “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” “They rush to commit murder. Destruction and misery always follow them. They don’t know where to find peace.” “They have no fear of God at all.” Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus. Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law. (Romans 3:10-28 NLT)
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