Moral High Road

Posted: February 28th, 2011 | Category: Christianity, Common Sense | Comments (1)

Taking the moral high road, should be easy, but in a world where most commerce is situated and transacted along the back roads, that moral road offers little appeal. Once again, there are several human character traits at work. The moral high road is closed to greed, the most common result of selfish behavior. The high road is also the one which all too often seems abandoned or at least desolate. The tolls that one pays to travel this road are extreme, including loneliness, suspicion, judgements, rejection, all while logic would tell us that the exact opposite is warranted. In personal relationships, the high road is essential for a successful journey, since it is a prerequisite for trust. Trust is a much sought after characteristic in personal relations, but in the transient world of interpersonal commerce, it has become obsolete. How can anyone be trusted, who’s first and foremost interest is in themselves? Trust comes from the belief that someone else has your best interests in mind. The world rewards profit, but God rewards righteous commitment. If you believe that you are going to retire to God’s kingdom, after leading a self serving life, why wouldn’t you try to grab the best of both worlds?

There’s the hitch. God wants all his children with him in heaven but he doesn’t want the attitude, arrogance and expectational demands that come along with many of them. He chooses carefully. The high road needs to be our only road. The one we travel when alone and the one we seek when the rest of our group insists on the low moral road. It’s not just profit that low-roaders seek, it’s acceptance, complicity, validation and peer approval. A simple example, you see 3 people you know, you walk up mid-point in their conversation, you catch the gist of a unanimously negative discussion about another common acquaintance and your agreement is sought. You think you know the facts, do you go along with them? Do you abstain? Do you reply by pointing out that gossip not something that you want to be GUILTY of, thus judging the judges? How about, “my opinions have no value in this situation.” You dodged the bullet, but the damage continues without you. It’s not always our responsibility to right wrongs or battle every injustice, but it’s always our responsibility to avoid the low moral road if we aren’t willing to address the wrongs that we encounter along the way.. If we must talk be truthful. If we must act be fair. If we must fight be sure God is on our side. Pick our battles from the vantage point of the high road. The clearly marked road closest to God. Luke 9:25 “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world and yet lose or forfeit his very self“?

JC Calkins with COMMON SENSE 4 UNCOMMON PEOPLE

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