The challenge of being frozen in time and inactivity is a reoccurring theme in the development of faith, progressing in life, and in making ethical choices. In the tumultuous world in which we live it is possible to be frozen in fear with the mistaken notion that doing nothing precludes bad from happening or somehow defers natural consequences. Fear is the antithesis of faith, and is anchored in the lost of understanding an eternal perspective. We lose our identity of being a son or daughter of God, we lose the perspective of the divine invitation and promise to return to our Father, we lose perspective of having the guidance of the Spirit, we lose the ability to consider the possibility which in turn opens our heart to the promptings of the Lord, The literature would say that people don't act or to chose to act unethically primarily because:
* Peer pressure/consensus acting - this can either cause errant behavior as one justifies following the crowd in doing the popular thing in life; or in not doing a behavior because it would cause one to stick out from the crowd and be overly unique and curious
* Obedience to authority- blind obedience given without reflection, thought or true personal engagement and commitment; or hands thrown-up in the air with acquiescence in terms of the old TV gag of " the devil made me do it"
*Self-serving bias - confirming pre-existent view, or in the terms of pop psychology already always listening, I know what the answer is without investigation, I know without doing because it simply has to be the way i think it is
* Lack of courage
* Confusion
* Not paying attention - this is interesting both in a spiritual sense and intellectual sense. On the one hand we are so busy with the noise of the world and distracted by our busyness that we can not hear the promptings of the spirit let alone heed them; on the other we just don't focus on that which is essential and become distracted , perhaps even by good thing, but are unable to focus and do that which is the essential or best to be doing. Either is a fatal lack of attention,
As I have pondered I have crossed a few quotes that stir thought and discussion.
- A person with outward courage dares to die, A person with inward courage dares to live. Lao Tzu
- The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in a period of moral crisis, maintain their neutrality. Dante
- In morality, as in literature - or in any field of human creativity - indifference is the enemy; indifference to evil is worse than evil. Elie Wiese
- So then because thou art a lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Revelations 3: 16
"A true experience has full flavor. It needs variety and spice. It needs to be real." We need to do.
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