Tag Archive for: character

Testing your Moral Compass

On Sunday in my local church congregation, I was invited to teach a lesson entitled “Integrity, A Christlike Attribute.”
After discussing what integrity means (e.g., honesty, consistency in actions, upholding moral principles etc), we created a straight line on the floor with some string and tape.
I explained that one end of the line represented “Strongly Agree,” the opposite end represented “Strongly Disagree,” and the middle represented a neutral stance.
The activity involved making decisions about how much they agreed or disagreed with certain statements related to integrity.
For example:
– “Integrity means always telling the truth, no matter the consequences.”
– “Sometimes it’s necessary to bend the rules to achieve a greater good.”
– “It’s okay to cheat a flawed system that is stacked against you.”
On each occasion, I invited everyone to position themselves on the line to indicate their view.
It was a fun activity, with lots of discussion and various opinions.

A personal lesson

After teaching the lesson it reminded me of my own moral dilemma from thirty years ago.
During my time at University in Edinburgh, occasionally I travelled home on the train.
The station where I boarded had no ticketing facilities and there was no alternative but to purchase a ticket on the train.
On one occasion, no conductor came along, so I couldn’t purchase a ticket.
Alighting at my home station, I must confess to feeling a little smug at not having to pay!
However, a few days later, the same thing happened again.
Then shortly thereafter, it happened on a 3rd occasion!
By this time, I was feeling uneasy about the whole thing.
I entered the ticket office at my home station and informed the clerk that I wanted to pay for my journey home, explaining what had happened.
I’ll never forget the quizzical look on his face, when he responded, “Get away son, don’t be daft, you’ve just had a freebie!”
My conscience was clear!
Most people have a sense of right and wrong, how and how not to behave.
What is your ethical DNA?
“A life of integrity requires us to be true to our divine identity” – Jack N. Gerard.
How has your moral compass been tested recently?

Do you act or react?

Do you act or react?
I like this story told by Dallin H. Oaks…
“I recall a memorable lesson I learned from Chicago Daily News columnist Sydney J. Harris. He wrote:
“I walked with my friend, a Quaker, to the newsstand the other night, and he bought a paper, thanking the newsie politely. The newsie didn’t even acknowledge it.
“‘A sullen fellow, isn’t he?’ I commented.
“‘Oh, he’s that way every night,’ shrugged my friend.
“‘Then why do you continue to be so polite to him?’ I asked.
“‘Why not?’ inquired my friend. ‘Why should I let him decide how I’m going to act?’
“As I thought about this incident later, it occurred to me that the important word was ‘act.’ My friend acts toward people; most of us react toward them. He has a sense of inner balance which is lacking in most of us; he knows who he is, what he stands for, how he should behave. He refuses to return incivility for incivility, because then he would no longer be in command of his conduct” (“Do You Act—Or React?” condensed from the Chicago Daily News).”
Reflecting on this story, it challenges each of us to focus our attention on the individual responses that we must make, to the personal adversities sure to impact upon each of us throughout our lives – sometimes even daily!

Choosing

Each of us have the power to choose what to do, in essence to act, and not simply be acted upon.
In most encounters in life, it is my sense that we can determine the kind of experience we are going to have by how we respond.
How we choose to act and behave ultimately shapes our character. Charles A. Hall aptly described that due process in these lines:
– We sow our thoughts, and we reap our actions;
– We sow our actions, and we reap our habits;
– We sow our habits, and we reap our characters;
– We sow our characters, and we reap our destiny”
May we always remember that “A soft answer turneth away wrath.”- Proverbs 15:1
How can you choose to act and not be acted upon?