Summer Break

Writing this blog over the last 20 weeks has truly been restorative therapy for me.  I've discovered things about myself that I thought had either been lost long ago, or that had never been truly a part of who I am now.  I hope that many of you have been encouraged and helped as you have chosen to join me on this spiritual journey.  Some have been with me from week one.  Others have joined along the way.  The readership of the blog has increased each week.  Thank you for reading, and telling others about it.

With summer being now upon us, I've decided to take a short summer recess from posting weekly blogs.  Don't worry!   I'm not quitting.  I will be back.  I just can't say whether it will be in a few weeks or several weeks.  I've discovered that I love to express myself by writing, so I'm not going to give that up anytime soon.  I would like to spend the next several weeks, retooling.  When I return, I will either pick up Business Ethics in the Book of Proverbs where I left off, or I may spin off and write more about Living Ethically in Today's World.  I still have about 14 to 16 topics from Proverbs that I would like to cover, but in light of what is happening culturally in our world today, I may choose the new topic.  The premise of that topic would be to address the challenges of ethical living in the 21st century.   So, when I return, I may end up addressing both topics.  Stay tuned!

As I wrap up what I'm calling Part I, I went back and re-read that first blog posted on 1/1/12.  In that blog, I defined what my goals were in writing.  They were: 

1. To introduce the reader to the richness of the Book of Proverbs and its teachings on Ethical Principles.
2. To discover principles together that will help us navigate the daily challenges we all face in our culture.
3. To encourage everyone that even though you may have failed many times to live ethically, whether personally, professionally or both, that you will discover that the Author of the Book used in this blog is someone who offers everyone a “second chance.”

As I look back at those goals, I think I have accomplished them, especially the first two.  I have had several tell me how I've helped make the Book of Proverbs current and fresh again by pointing out its timeless principles.  I've heard from others who've said that particular posts have helped them through some of their own challenges to live ethically.  Even though, I haven't personally heard from anyone how the third point had impacted them personally, I can say from my own experience that it has impacted me.  I'm so grateful that God is giving me this platform to tell others about Him and His Word; that He is the God of Second Chances; that He is a loving and forgiving God; and that He is still One who chooses to use imperfect humans like us to serve Him.

In closing, I would encourage each of you to take time to read a chapter in the Book of Proverbs daily or even weekly.  I would also encourage those who joined our journey along the way and have not read all of the blog posts to visit the archive section on the right side of the blog page.  There, you will find the posted blogs for the past 19 weeks.  I would also ask those who regularly read this blog to consider signing up, so you can start receiving these posts in your email.  This way, you are sure not to miss them when I start back up.  Signing up is simple and secure.  You will not be bombarded with ads or spam, and if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe at any time.  Just put in your email address in the space provided on the blog, hit the submit button, and you will then receive an email confirmation from Google that has a link in the body of the email that you will need to reply to, by simply clicking on the link.  If you do not take this last step, which is clicking on the confirmation link, you will not receive the posts via email.  Please be sure to complete this last step.  This will ensure that you are giving your permission to Google to send you this blog.

Have a great summer everyone.  Please feel free to stay in touch via email, by commenting on today's or past blogs, or by liking and posting on my business ethics page on Facebook.  I would love to hear from you.

May we always strive to lead ethical lives at home, at work and within our own consciousnesses. 

Until next time,
Tony Carroll

Are Personal Ethics Relative?

Since I started this blog on Business Ethics and the Book of Proverbs, I have always sought to point to the source for ethical principles.  I believe that source is the Bible.  Yet some may say, the Bible is just a book written by men, a collection of fairytales and fables, historically inaccurate and full of lies and half-truths.  If that is indeed the case, then stop reading this blog now.  If there is not a trustworthy, reliable source for ethical truths, then I apologize for wasting your time over the last 18 weeks.  In other words, if there is no Absolute Truth, then who am I to offer anything regarding our responsibility to live more ethical lives?  I would be a sham and a charlatan, a snake-oil salesman in the 21st century.

But, if there is Absolute Truth, then the principles of conduct and ethics have a solid foundation making them relevant for any society, not just a Christian society.  Do you believe in Absolute Truth?

Karl Marx, the father of communism, believed that each society should create its own system of ethics based on its economic status and history, and then the current system of ethics (based on Absolute Truth) would soon give way to a new one where all morals and ethics are relative.
 
Humanist John Dewey, co-author and signer of the Humanist Manifesto I in 1933 declared, "There is no God and there is no soul. Hence, there are no needs for the props of traditional religion. With dogma and creed excluded, then immutable truth is also dead and buried. There is no room for fixed, natural law or moral absolutes." Humanists believe one should do, as one feels is right.  Everything, every moral, every law, every standard is relative in the humanist's world view.  Yet a society with a code of ethics based on no moral absolutes would be a society ruled by anarchy.

Almost 2,000 years ago, Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)  Jesus established Himself and His teachings, the Bible itself, as Absolute Truth.

So there you have it, Marx, Dewey and Jesus.  Two said truth is relative to your circumstances.  One said He was and is the truth.    Who would you rather believe?  A relativist maintains that everyone should be able to believe and do whatever he wants. Of course, this view is emotionally satisfying, until that person comes home to find his house has been robbed, or someone seeks to hurt him, or someone cuts in front of him in line. No relativist will come home to find his house robbed and say, "Oh, how wonderful that the burglar was able to fulfill his view of reality by robbing my house. Who am I to impose my view of right and wrong on this wonderful burglar?" Quite the contrary, the relativist will feel violated just like anyone else.

The very document upon which this country was founded establishes the reality of Absolute Truth.  "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,"  Declaration of Independence, July 4th, 1776.

I conclude that the answer to the question in the title of today's blog is "no", personal ethics are not relative, but are founded upon Absolute Truth.  With that being said, I would like to share a concise description of an Ethical person from two verses in Proverbs.

Proverbs 19:22-23, "What is desired in a man is kindness, and a poor man is better than a liar.  The fear of the Lord leads to life, and he who has it will abide in satisfaction.  He will not be visited with evil."

1. An ethical person is described as being kind.  He strives to live by the Golden Rule, "whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them," (Matthew 7:12).  Said another way, it simply states that we are to treat other people as we would wish to be treated ourselves.  The golden rule is the ethic of reciprocity.  Twenty one world religions have some version of the golden rule in their teachings.  Being kind to others is based on Absolute Truth and describes the ethical person.
2. An ethical person is known by their honesty.  It is better to be honest and poor, than be rich and a liar.  Your personal integrity is not to be taken for granted.  Honesty builds trust. 
3. An ethical person recognizes Absolute Truth and has a respect for its Author.  "Fear" in a Biblical sense means reverential respect.  Regardless of your spiritual preferences or inclinations, living ethically shows your regard for Absolute Truth and respect for its Author.  Said another way, morality is present in humanity.  There is a sense of right and wrong in the heart of every person.  Those who go deeper and profess faith in God are able to develop an even more personal relationship with Him.
4. An ethical person is described as someone who is satisfied.  There is a contentment and security that governs the life of person that lives honorably.  Contentment is elusive to the person who has not truly recognized his responsibility to fill the spiritual vacuum in their life and insist on living their lives without personal faith in God.

A personal code of ethics is based on Absolute Truth.  When your personal ethics have a foundation, then your life will manifest kindness, honesty, reverence and contentment.  What are you basing your own personal ethics on?  What are they founded upon?