Ethics is About More Than Right and Wrong

In case you have not noticed, I have been blogging recently mainly about foundational matters in ethics. I have argued that the Scriptures have a coherent ethical philosophy despite the fact that they do not arrange their ethics as a treatise and despite the fact that the rules of the Old Testament and the New Testament differ somewhat. In this blog I invite you to understand that ethics means more than a criterion for deciding right and wrong. We would recognize this instantly if we spoke Greek. The word “ethics” comes from a Greek word that means “that which is customary or habitual.” Ethics does not merely draw boundaries; it also inculcates good habits. It defines the practices that lead to the virtuous life and away from the vice-ridden.

All too often in our thinking about ethics we reduce the question to “Is x right or wrong?” Even worse, we reduce our ethical thinking to a few slogans, whether it be the Golden Rule or Kant’s Categorical Imperative or even something as elaborate as the Ten Commandments. Now if that were the beginning of our ethical thinking—that is, if we used these items to begin thinking of the sorts of practices we would like to cultivate—it might not be so bad. But when it is the end of our ethical thinking, it becomes so reductionistic that it actually may encourage us to lead an evil life. We say, “Technically I haven’t violated law Y or Z (understood in their narrowest sense); therefore I am still behaving in a moral way until I violate a law.”

We would not live so carelessly in other matters. If I were going down a winding mountain pass, it would be foolish of me to ask, “How fast can I go without going off the cliff?” If I have any sense at all, I would take every precaution so that the most trivial mistake on my part or a malfunction of my car would not send me over the guard rail. Even if technically I have not run into trouble as long as my car stays on the road, I have needlessly endangered myself and perhaps others. One day my carelessness could cost me my life. But our pet sins flourish because we think that we can do everything leading up to that sin and then slam on the brakes at the last moment. When we inevitably fail, we wonder why.

A better question to ask when going down a winding mountain pass would be, “What is the best way that I can handle this mountain road?” rather than “How fast can I go?” Similarly, a better question to ask about our lives when dealing with a moral dilemma is “How can I best live a godly life that glorifies God?” rather than “How far can I go before I do something immoral?”

This is the approach that the Scriptures take. Paul’s epistles, for example, repeatedly call God’s people to live out their baptismal life. If you look at such passages as Romans 12-13 or Galatians 5 or Colossians 3, you see that Paul does more than warn people against bad behavior. He urges them to live a life that reflects God’s working in them. Similarly, our Lord in the Sermon on the Mount warns against a mere reductionistic reading of the law (Matthew 5:21-37) but urges us to do more than avoid evil but to pursue the good that is beyond the comprehension of the heathen (Matthew 5:28-48) and to embrace the attitudes summarized in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12). We are to be more than good. We are to be salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16).

© 2010 James A. Kellerman