"Do right by me, and I'll do right by you," is the promise on every man's heart. We hear in this day and age, "Peace! Let's have world peace! Let's all get along!"
A marvelous thought, but I'm afraid that's as far as it goes: it is wishful thinking through ignorance which rests on a foundation of false hope.
The reason for this is plain: the "fairness" motto has one fatal flaw. It is a tit for tat deal. There is no promise without a promise in return. There is no real gift; only exchange. This is selfishness at its subtlest.
So long as selfishness thrives in the heart of man, there will never be hope for change. This brings the question, Is there hope, then? Can we ever rid ourselves of selfishness? As long as we try to do it by ourselves, no. There is no hope. We can't.
But, there is One way. The way which can only come from a Divine Being, One Who is heavenly and perfect, without selfishness, without sin.
We are born with a sense of "common morality". People live with people, generally getting along alright. We help one another. This is how societies are built. This is how nations thrive: living under a common purpose, usually Life. We choose Life, and we help others to choose this as well. This is why we care for the sick; why we help the wounded. It's only moral, right?
But is that the end of things? No, for being moral isn't the be all and end all. We are not ALWAYS moral toward one another; our morality, no matter how noble and just it may sometimes be, is flawed.
Uncommon morality is not inlaid in us from the start; it is rather set in us by Holy hands. It is what makes us search for the Truth, and keep it sacred; it is what causes us to hold ourselves to a higher standard than the world, even if that means persecution and harm.
We are not born "good". We are reborn that way. "Uncommon morality" is being godly, following the best example of holiness.
The greatest example I have heard of is Christ. He is the epitome of Uncommon morality, of agape love. He showed the world that their standard was too low; not only that, but He then provided the Way to raise it.
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." (1 Peter 1:3-5)
"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation." (1 Peter 2:9-12)
The greatest thing about that is, He also made Himself accessible. This Most Holy God, this Perfect, Awesome, Powerful God came to earth - for me! For you! Is that not the most amazing grace you have ever heard of? We can reach Him. He is there. And He will never leave us, nor forsake us.
Being "fair" is not enough. It wasn't "fair" that Christ suffered on the cross for us. It wasn't fair that He was beaten with fists that should have been aimed at us. This is what we must - yes, must - aspire to: Christ-likeness. To give ourselves completely and wholly over to the One Who gave Himself up completely and wholly to death for our sake.
How could we possibly not?
"We are not begotten by God, we are only made by Him: in our natural state we are not sons of God, only (so to speak) statues. We have not got Zoe or spiritual life: only Bios or biological life which is presently going to run down and die. Now the whole offer which Christianity makes is this: that we can, if we let God have His way, come to share in the life of Christ. If we do, we shall then be sharing a life which was begotten, not made, which always has existed and always will exist. Christ is the Son of God. If we share in this kind of life we also shall be sons of God. We shall love the Father as He does and the Holy Ghost will arise in us. He came to this world and became a man in order to spread to other men the kind of life He has - by what I call "good infection". Every Christian is to become a little Christ. The whole purpose of becoming a Christian is simply nothing else." ~ C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
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By swallowing evil words unsaid, no one has ever harmed his stomach. ~Winston Churchill
Smart guy.