We cannot bind our morality on others!

by Tom Russell

TRUE or FALSE!

An elder once told me, “You know we can’t bind our morality on others.”  He was stating this as a general principle, and he was mistaken.  Make no mistake, it is not a question of, “Will some group impose its moral standards on everyone?”  No, the question is whose moral standard will be imposed?

“Morality” is simply the standard of right and wrong adhered to by an individual or group.  Every individual and group has one, and they will naturally promote it. This promotion, or imposition, is done through reasonable persuasion, or through the use of force or threat of force.

Ironically, quite often those who argue most ferociously against this truth are not only exercising it in their argumentation, but commonly abandon reason and attempt to use the “guns of government” to enforce their particular moral code.  For instance, every lawsuit filed against a Christian baker, florist, or wedding photographer to force them to sacrifice their time, labor, and resources in supporting a homosexual union is an attempt to force them to conform to the standard of right and wrong, or morality, of those filing the suit.  In this example, the homosexual is attempting to bind his moral standard on the Christian by forcing his involvement, and in fighting the suit the Christian is morally resisting that imposition.  A man’s time, labor, and resources, are his “life, liberty, and happiness”, and are sacrosanct.  To take them by force is theft and enslavement.  By the way, it would be just as wrong for the Christian to use the “guns of government” to force a homosexual baker to bake a cake with 1 Corinthians 6:9 written on it.

Christians should work to impose a moral standard of fairness!

Note the following,

Matthew 28:18-20 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 3 For though we (Christians) walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.

If Christ has all authority, then all must submit to the social standards He established. 

What are those “moral standards”?

Luke 6:31 “And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.”

Romans 13:8-10 “8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”

From this we can see that all must treat one another fairly.  These standards are not unique to Christianity, and in fact, the implication of Romans 2:14-15 is that they are “written upon the hearts” of all men.  We see this, that everyone wants to be treated with fairness and compassion; therefore, everyone must be fair and compassionate in their treatment of others.

This moral standard established by Christ relies on the use of reason to persuade, and the use of force only to prevent the abuse of force.

Yes, Christians within their sphere of influence, should work with zeal, commitment, and certainty, to appropriately bind the moral standard of fairness demanded by the circumstances.