Ethics: Acceptable for Whom?

by Adam White You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise (Psalm 51:16-17). Our ethical decisions are generally determined by a desire to please someone else. For example, a person will abide by the laws of society in order to please the official authorities in order that they do not get into some form of trouble. Again, a person will abide by unwritten or unofficial laws of a social setting such as a neighborhood or a club in order to please the other members of the group and in turn be accepted. We do this in order to not be labeled as ‘unlawful’ or ‘unsocial’ and ultimately be accepted so that we can participate in the community. The Christian community has similar principles of social ruling that define it and its members as being unique from the world. These rules are the laws and commands found in the bible, they are common to all Christians everywhere, ie. the Ten Commandments. While it is true to say that churches within different cultures and periods of time differ on contextual cultural issues such as T.V., alcohol, movies etc, the overarching universal principles and commands found in the bible remain the same regardless of cultural persuasions; for example, gossip, sexual immorality, drunkenness, jealousy, idolatry etc are universally deemed by the church as sin. So within this context and social setting, a Christian will abide by these various rules and social and moral requirements in order to please the community and in turn be accepted as a family member. But is this what a Christian is supposed to be? Why do we do the things we do as Christians, who should we be trying to please? God is quite clear that the purpose of the Christian life is worship, which is demonstrated through humble obedience. We are not here to please humanity and win their approval; we are here to first and foremost please God. This should be the foundation for our ethical framework. This should be the reason for our obedience to His commands and decrees and in doing this will result in our being accepted into the Christian community as first and foremost a child of God, accepted by Him.