The moral compass. Most of us have one. Some of us were given one by our parents early on but the psychology of most children is “If I can get away with it, then I will do it. Especially if it makes me happy.” But there are times when as children we knew there was a consequence we weren’t willing to risk by acting inappropriately or selfishly. Sometimes we took the chance anyway. In my case, I would occasionally sneak out and go see my girlfriend in my parent’s car. Well, one night my dad became wise and set a rocking chair right at the front door. The only door through which I could possibly get into the house. He sat there trying to sleep, knowing any attempt to come in would immediately wake him and I can promise you, he would not be in a good mood. Then came the consequence. It was tragic for a boy of 16 or 17. No vehicle privileges or phone. I cannot recall the duration of the sentence but let me assure you, much like the scripture “A day was like a thousand years and a thousand years were like a day.”
I lived as a youth much like the Jews of the Old Testament. My moral compass was oriented towards the punishment of a vengeful God or Dad in my case.
There were his commandments, known to me as the law. I was motivated to follow those commandments by the fear or respect I would have for my father. Now, I can say at times I looked pretty fearless and disrespectful but I can assure you the respect and the fear were instilled quite successfully after a period of wandering in the wilderness.
As adults, we make a choice. Will we live under the Law? That is, will we live in fear of the police and a judge and a potential fine or jail term? Is that what will guide our life? Or, will we be guided from within, not reliant upon outside forces to manipulate our behavior so we “stay in line”, but instead on this internal “Moral Compass”?
As the disciples did, and as Christians do, we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Then as Jesus promised and as evidenced in the Book of Acts on the day of Pentecost, we were overcome by the Holy Spirit. It became our conscience. Our direction for every act and when we deviated, we felt remorse. We felt like something was wrong. Like we lacked direction. Like our compass was broken or missing and we never regained that peace until we were reconciled. Until whatever wrong we committed was made right or until we repented.
The Moral Compass or as I know it, the Holy Spirit, convicts. It guides. It motivates for the good.
Without freedom, we cannot speak meaningfully about morality or moral responsibility. Human freedom is more than a capacity to choose between this and that. It is the God-given power to become who he created us to be and so to share eternal union with him. This happens when we consistently choose ways that are in harmony with God's plan. Christian morality and God's law are not arbitrary, but specifically given to us for our happiness. God gave us intelligence and the capacity to act freely. Ultimately, human freedom lies in our free decision to say "yes" to God. In contrast, many people today understand human freedom merely as the ability to make a choice, with no objective norm or good as the goal.
For an individual act to be morally good, the object, or what we are doing, must be objectively good. Some acts, apart from the intention or reason for doing them, are always wrong because they go against a fundamental or basic human good that ought never to be compromised. Direct killing of the innocent, torture, and rape are examples of acts that are always wrong. Such acts are referred to as intrinsically evil acts, meaning that they are wrong in themselves, apart from the reason they are done or the circumstances surrounding them.
The goal, end, or intention is the part of the moral act that lies within the person. For this reason, we say that the intention is the subjective element of the moral act. For an act to be morally good, one's intention must be good. If we are motivated to do something by a bad intention—even something that is objectively good—our action is morally evil. It must also be recognized that a good intention cannot make a bad action (something intrinsically evil) good. We can never do something wrong or evil in order to bring about a good. This is the meaning of the saying, "the end does not justify the means" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, nos. 1749-1761).
Human virtues form the soul with the habits of mind and will that support moral behavior, control passions, and avoid sin. Virtues guide our conduct according to the dictates of faith and reason, leading us toward freedom based on self-control and toward joy in living a good moral life. Compassion, responsibility, a sense of duty, self-discipline and restraint, honesty, loyalty, friendship, courage, and persistence are examples of desirable virtues for sustaining a moral life. Historically, we group the human virtues around what are called the Cardinal Virtues. This term comes from the Latin word cardo meaning “hinge.” All the virtues are related to or hinged to one of the Cardinal Virtues. The four Cardinal Virtues are prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance.
Galatians 5:22-23
New International Version (NIV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
When we act in the Spirit we are in accordance with God’s Will. There are times in our lives however that our humanness fogs the Spirit within and confuses us as to what the proper action is we must take. This is where two virtues of the Spirit come into play. Patience and self-control. We must take pause at times to not react hastily in certain situations where our tongue or our impulse will take to a place of regret as it so often does.
We must utilize the peaceful heart and the exercise of prayer to gain a good direction as to where to go. The examples of other Christians who act in good faith are excellent azimuths for which we should aim our compass.
The human virtues are also acquired through seeing them in the good example of others and through education in their value and methods to acquire them. Stories that inspire us to want such virtues help contribute to their growth within us. They are gained by a strong will to achieve such ideals. In addition, God’s grace is offered to us to purify and strengthen our human virtues, for our growth in virtue can be hampered by the reality of sin. Especially through prayer, we open ourselves to the gifts of the Holy Spirit and God’s grace as another way in which we grow in virtue.
The moral life requires grace. This speaks in terms of life in Christ and the inner presence of the Holy Spirit, actively enlightening our moral compass and supplying the spiritual strength to do the right thing. The grace that comes to us from Christ in the Spirit is as essential as love and rules and, in fact, makes love and keeping the rules possible.
So, in closing we must always be aware and on guard as to what our actions, emotions, and motivations are. Are they guided and in alignment with the Spirit? Or are they guided hastily and selfishly and without moral direction? Is our compass broken, unused, or not present? Who are we and where are we in relation to God’s will in our lives? These are questions I constantly ask myself as I will always be learning and growing as well as periodically digressing in my walk with Christ and the Holy Spirit. The key to it all is that we recognize our transgressions and seek forgiveness as we also forgive. We reconcile ourselves with God and whomever we trespass against. We do all of this in the most sincere form of contrition and over time the frequency of sin becomes less and less. We find God is more present in us and we or our flesh is less.
He must increase, but I must decrease.”
John 3:30
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