Food for a feast - “Man can live about forty days without food, about three days without water, about eight minutes without air, but only for one second without hope”Groucho Marx quipped, "Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others." Though he is joking, I wonder if he is actually hitting close to home? Do you have a firm set of principles that guide your life?
Who teaches our young people about character and the importance of always doing what is right? Who teaches them how essential it is to always be honest and do what is right? In some countries, including America, the answer is: "Not the schools! Let them stick to academics," they say. "The church and the home can teach morality."
Even many ETHICS courses do not touch on PERSONAL ethics. They may discuss the medical ethics of cloning, stem cell research and genetic engineering. They may consider euthanasia, abortion and capital punishment. And they may even look at the ethics of governments and multi-national corporations. But how many teach about personal ethics: honesty, honor, integrity, trust, and the like? Or do they expect students to learn about what is right and wrong elsewhere?
Educator Christine Hoff-Sommers tells that an American university instructor dropped an armful of final exams on her desk in disgust as she complained that over 50% of her students CHEATED on their social justice exam. They'd spent a semester learning about ethical issues most societies face, but they never discussed personal morality. They could talk about the good and bad behaviors of corporations, governments and societies, but not about their own lives. They just didn't get it: cheating is wrong! And can we expect societies to be any better than the people who live in them?
Church leader John Wesley simplifies it for us. In regards to personal ethics, he says this:
"Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can."
That is advice that should never let you down.
From Lifesupport.
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1 comment:
It is disheartening to know that there seem to be no personal ethics any more. People don't have religion or role models they can respect and emulate, only TV stars and musicians. Parents seem to have abrogated all responsibility. Children have no concept of morals.
Your article gives a good perspective on this issue.
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