Pastor Edward Kannaih Calvary Baptist church on the topic of moral spiritual ethics and real life dilemmas
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We sometimes face complex situations with no clear right choice. What should Christians do when confronted with spiritual, moral or ethical dilemmas?
Have you ever been in a lose-lose situation? Or a catch-22? Or even, dare we say, a jam or a pickle? Ever been between a rock and a hard place? Have you ever had to choose between the lesser of two evils?
Whatever idiom we use to label the experience, we no doubt have all had dilemmas in our lives in which there seemed to be no way to do the right or ethical thing. No pros, all cons. No saving grace or silver lining, only a seemingly impossible choice.
There can be many reasons we find ourselves in these types of situations:
• We are trying to protect our loved ones, or even strangers, from harm or suffering.
• We have limited time, limited resources and limited information for making a decision.
• We want to keep ourselves from harm or suffering, as well as hardship.
• We see a possible threat to our family’s basic human needs, and we have to react.
So that being said, lets think of some familiar real life examples of ethical dilemmas
• We are in legal and financial troubles. Lying will help us get out of them, but lying is wrong (Exodus 20:16). I need to protect and provide for my family and make sure they are okay. I have no choice. I’ll lie and repent later.
o Where’s the justice and love for those we lie to? Where is the repentance and seeking God’s help? Where is the search for other solutions?
• My manager tells me to wear a pin on my work uniform that denotes an ideological or activist stance that the company is supporting but that the Bible says is wrong. I know that doing so would cause people to think I support that cause (which I don’t). I will never be able to find another job that works around my schedule. I don’t want people to think I am hateful of anyone. I have no choice. I will go along with what my boss wants and repent later.
o Where’s the faith that God will take care of us?
Have you ever been in a lose-lose situation? Or a catch-22? Or even, dare we say, a jam or a pickle? Ever been between a rock and a hard place? Have you ever had to choose between the lesser of two evils?
Whatever idiom we use to label the experience, we no doubt have all had dilemmas in our lives in which there seemed to be no way to do the right or ethical thing. No pros, all cons. No saving grace or silver lining, only a seemingly impossible choice.
There can be many reasons we find ourselves in these types of situations:
• We are trying to protect our loved ones, or even strangers, from harm or suffering.
• We have limited time, limited resources and limited information for making a decision.
• We want to keep ourselves from harm or suffering, as well as hardship.
• We see a possible threat to our family’s basic human needs, and we have to react.
So that being said, lets think of some familiar real life examples of ethical dilemmas
• We are in legal and financial troubles. Lying will help us get out of them, but lying is wrong (Exodus 20:16). I need to protect and provide for my family and make sure they are okay. I have no choice. I’ll lie and repent later.
o Where’s the justice and love for those we lie to? Where is the repentance and seeking God’s help? Where is the search for other solutions?
• My manager tells me to wear a pin on my work uniform that denotes an ideological or activist stance that the company is supporting but that the Bible says is wrong. I know that doing so would cause people to think I support that cause (which I don’t). I will never be able to find another job that works around my schedule. I don’t want people to think I am hateful of anyone. I have no choice. I will go along with what my boss wants and repent later.
o Where’s the faith that God will take care of us?
