Morality Happens (It's Not the Goal)

He calls, we respond. He leads, we trust. He teaches, we learn. Build a relationship with God this way, and our morality will take care of itself.  Jesus Christ, God incarnate, shows us the way

In spite of what countless numbers of preachers and Sunday school teachers have been telling us for generations, the Christian life is not just about morality—being good and doing good.  Morality is certainly part of the picture, but it is not the central theme. The central theme in the Christian life is building and enjoying a close, everyday relationship with God. Making morality the central issue trivializes the Christian walk and robs us of the great adventure with the Spirit of the Creator that is freely available to everyone.

Christianity was never intended to be a moral philosophy, and the Bible was never intended to be a simple guidebook for proper conduct.  The central theme of the Bible is not the Ten Commandments. The central theme of the Bible is not being good so you can go to Heaven (and, consequently, escape the eternal torment of Hell).  The central theme of the Bible is God and His desire to build a deep, personal, and healthy relationship with every living human being—past, present, and future.  All other issues, including the best-known moral issues, are subservient. Some of this other stuff is necessary, but it is not the point of the journey, itself.  

Consider taking a casual drive in the country on a quiet, sunny afternoon. Is the purpose of this little excursion to operate the gas pedal and brake? To work the steering wheel and adjust the seat belts?  Of course not. The purpose is to enjoy the surroundings and perhaps find a few moments of peace and joy.  Operating the car should be second nature to us, almost subconscious and reflexive.   To fix our full attention upon the details of operating car makes it impossible to fulfill the real purpose of the journey.

Okay, so here is the picture. Our Christian purpose at this time is to build and sustain a close and healthy relationship with God. This is what He wants and, being children of God who are made in His image, we should want the same thing. Now we have to keep in mind that God is a whole lot smarter, bigger, wiser, and better than we can ever be. This means that He knows a whole lot more about building this all-important, one-on-one relationship than we do. So He is going to call the shots on how it is done.  Left to our own devices, we would inevitably screw it up.

So let’s assume for the sake of discussion that we all want to do it right.  Where do we begin?  It all begins with an attitude that is build from a strong desire to walk with Him.  Forget about going to Heaven or Hell. Those are distractions that we don’t need. Think about that empty spot that resides deep within our soul—that place that hungers and thirsts for truth and righteousness, for the spiritual life that God offers, for His abiding presence in our lives.  None of us can adequately express our personal motivation for reaching out for His tangible presence in our lives; but there is nevertheless a drawing or calling of the Spirit of God—a highly personalized invitation to join in the wonderful journey.

At first, we don’t know God very well. We only know what others have told us or we have managed to develop from our personal experiences and thoughts.  Sometimes our early impressions of God aren’t very flattering—shallow at best—but sometimes bordering on evil.  How often we hear someone say, “I don’t want a god that lets millions of people suffer and die from human cruelty, ‘natural’ disasters, and disease.”  People who think along these lines are often working on a different personal agenda that has nothing to do with an honest search for truth.  In other cases, these folks are simply trying to wire up their spiritual lives according to their own blueprints.  Maybe all of us have tried jump-starting our first steps with God according to our own plans; and if He is especially good to us that day, those unenlightened, egocentric first steps will soon lead to something far more productive. (God is like that, you know. He responds most directly to our intentions and true motives.)

All that God asks is that we respond to the call of His Spirit.  In a manner of speaking, He whistles for us. All we have to do is respond with, “Here I am.”   Can you see some of the deeper meaning that is inherent in this simple picture? First, it is God who calls out to us. He chooses us, we don’t choose Him. Second, He calls and we respond. Clearly, He is the master and we are the apprentices.  Third, He calls us for a reason. God has a plan for doing something, for going somewhere.

With this kind of relationship setting up—God calling and our responding—what could possibly go wrong after that?   Obviously, we cannot know the full scope of what is involved in our developing relationship with God, so we must continue to learn from Him and count on His leading.  In other words, we need to develop a willingness to learn and to trust.  Notice that simply following the Ten Commandments or trying to be good are not at the top of the list here.  We are setting the stage for a genuine spiritual relationship with God.  We are messing with eternal things here, not mere moral grade cards for behavior.

The natural tendency is to put the cart in font of the horse. We tend to thing that being moral and good is the means for getting closer to God. No, no, no!! It’s the other way ‘round. Getting closer to God causes us to exhibit moral behavior.  Moral behavior is an effect—not a means.  It is a tragedy of awesome proportions that so many people squander their spiritual journeys and personal relationship with God by throwing all their energy into trying to be good while blinding themselves to God’s real interest in them.

Of course I am in no way suggesting that following the path to true enlightenment and the enjoyment of God’s personal presence gives us license to act immorally.  Heaven forbid!  I am saying that the proper pursuit of truth results in moral behavior. Moral behavior becomes an unconscious act or reflex.  We don’t have to search the Ten Commandments or try to find answers to “what would Jesus do?”   It becomes instinctive. Not perfect, but instinctive and on the right track.  To use a metaphor from the Bible, God writes His laws (moral code) directly upon our hearts.

Hear His call, respond to His call, trust His leading, and learn from Him. His call is an act of love, and our response is instinctive and takes the form of spiritual desire. We cannot fully trust what we do not understand, but we can work back and forth between trust and understanding—each reinforces the other. In Christian terminology, this dynamic interaction between trust and understanding is called faith. Also, God’s teaching resources are vast and readily accessible. We are never hurting for spiritual, emotional, and intellectual input.

Now, how is it possible to have all of these advantages and yet consistently manage to make a mess of it?  I have already mentioned the problem of setting morality ahead of relationship.  In addition, some of us have answered God’s call, but we have a lot of trouble with the trusting thing.   When we fail to trust God, we tend to substitute the religious doctrines and rituals of men or, worse, cook up a batch of our own.   Religious doctrines and rituals can serve proper purposes; however, they are not proper substitutes for a genuine trust in God’s direction for our spiritual lives. 

Finally, there is the matter of self-importance. The deal is this: God calls, we respond. Unfortunately, some people get it backwards--they call, and God responds. At least that’s how they see it.  Then they begin building upon a concept that is backwards from the very beginning. They take charge of their spiritual lives, and use God as a source of power to accomplish whatever spiritual goals they set before themselves.  This approach, carried far enough, can be very powerful, very convincing, and all-encompassing.  But it is all an illusion. It is a heady experience that feeds upon egocentricity and renders humility a simple exercise in playacting.  Because these people are not responding to God, moral behavior does not come naturally—they have to work at it; and work at it they do, constantly striving to beat the ‘sin’ out of themselves and each other. In any event, it is terribly difficult to backtrack from the deadly illusion that we are in charge, and them begin anew with the matter turned around right. 

He calls, we respond. He leads, we trust. He teaches, we learn. Build a relationship with God this way, and our morality will take care of itself.  Jesus Christ, God incarnate, shows us the way.