Tag Archive for: moral compass

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?