Morality, judgment and love

We hold ourselves to certain moral standards. The obvious one is do to unto others as you want others to do to you. Yet I observe how "moral" people are swift in passing judgment based on ambiguous evidence. From experience I have learned that those who claim to be proponents of morality are indeed very far from being moral. In fact they are just as immoral as I am when I judge them. The difference is that I do not claim to be a moralist and I also do not attack morality but rather pursue it. In a world filled with injustices and heinous crimes one might almost be justified to ignore strangers who look "different" to what society dictates. But what in the end drives the decision process to ignore or befriend a stranger. And, based on logical inference, and if we dare call ourselves moralists, shouldn't we first examine the person before making inference about his existence by mere hints of clothing, race, sex etc.? And where does this lead us in terms of helping the needy (not necessarily the poor)?

If the answer evades you we may look at the actions of the great moralist in history. While there are many to choose from, I choose Jesus as an example. He regularly met with society's outcasts. He protected the life of a prostitute, made friends with tax collectors, had meals and drank with society's rejected and healed the sick. On the other hand he judged Israel's religious leaders of following man-made rules at the cost of loving one's neighbour, he exposed their insincere motives and showed that pride lay behind the veil of "righteousness". A few things happened during this process - the poor and needy were elevated while the proud were humbled. This brought some form equality, or equilibrium to the society.

What is then implied when we claim to be disciples of our moral leaders but do not follow them? It can only mean two things: Either we are hypocrites, or we are sincere followers but somehow are not able to live according to their moral code. If we hold this moral code in high esteem then surely all our available energy should be spent on trying to live morally. But since most of us do not spend all our energy on this it would mean that most of us are hypocrites. This matter is more serious. Instead of realising our corrupt nature we are completely oblivious to it or in denial. I guess this is why we become so disdained with many Christians who give us plenty of examples of false judgment. And most often you will hear an excuse and justification for their actions rather than a simple acknowledgment of being in the wrong and trying to set the record straight. Not only are a majority of these excuses illogical but it also reveals something sinister about our ideas of morality, good and evil and life.

I find myself bemused at trying to figure out how to change people's attitudes towards racial differences, class divisions and image perception. The only answer is love. Yes, the same love that you have heard from many people, read about in books and even experienced. But the honest truth is that our society is crumbling due to a lack of love. More dissent and hatred is replacing values that are essential to being human. Many books have been written about Love thy neighbour as you love yourself. Our wise God knows what is best for us. Even if you don't believe in a God, seeing the world from our neighbour's eyes might just soften our hardened and unlearned hearts about humanity.

But love has a cost too. It requires sacrifice. And the sacrifice is the ego. It is pride inhibits the ability to love those around you. It is not about survival of the fittest. There is also no joy in spending hours hating others, ignoring the plights of the needy and impressing on others that you are important. Let go. Work hard. In the end the investment is worth it. If you really want to discover who you are and what your purpose is then you need elevate the needy and humble yourself.

The world is a mysterious place where interesting events unfold and people from various backgrounds change continuously. We are part of something and we need to learn that to be part of that something means to love. We cannot function as individuals, but a collective species we may make great strides in doing what is best for each other. May God forgive us our many trespasses and may he guide our bodies, minds and hearts to seek and follow His will first.