Vince Deagler

hi again.  may i ask you to put your thinking caps on for this one?  the reason i say that is because i really do believe there is a right and a wrong way to live.  i believe the bible explains the difference.  and i believe the uproar that has resulted from the casey anthony case is a great opportunity to evaluate what is going on in our lives. 

first, i would suggest there is a problem that is unavoidable within moral relativism.  moral relativism is a belief in situational ethics, that truth is very personal, that truth is what i determine it to be for me, and what you determine it to be for you, it is a pragmatic approach to truth that believes truth is what works for me in this moment, it rejects the idea of absolute truth, absolute right and wrong.  when moral relativism becomes the norm, as it now has, values are skewed.  after all, who are we to “judge” the behavior of someone else.  we must be tolerant because all beliefs and behaviors are deemed to be equal.  anyone familiar with the bible knows the bible teaches otherwise.  it presents an absolute truth communicated from the supreme moral authority.  the farther we deviate from absolute truth, the more cultural confusion we will experience.  absolutism gives clarity, relativism leads to this confusion.

lesson 2, enabling is a bad idea.  for whatever reason there is a strong compulsion in many people to “cover”, “make excuses for”, and “rescue” irresponsible people.  please understand there is a difference between being gracious, loving, compassionate, sympathetic, helping, etc. and enabling.  enabling, as i am using it means to protect someone from the consequence of their actions with the result that we make it possible for them to continue to be irresponsible.  ecclesiastes 8:11 teaches this exact principle.  it says “because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, the heart of the sons of men is fully set to do evil.”  some of the best lessons i have ever learned in my own life have been the result of being held accountable for my wrongs.  i shudder to think of where i might have ended up, what i might have become, if people in my life did not love me enough to hold me accountable.  i don’t know about you, i do not need help in wrong doing.  but i sure need help to do right.

last lesson, at least for today.  we need to be internalist’s as opposed to externalist’s.  being an internalist does not imply there are no problems outside of me.  it simply recognizes the reality we have little or no control over such things.  yet we have complete control over what we think, say, do, etc.  so instead of shifting the blame…my problem is_________________, an internalist looks at what’s happening, considers what god would like to see as an outcome, and then reacts in such a way as to allow god the chance to work in and through us to accomplish that outcome.  in a way, that is what i’m trying to do with this blog.  i can’t change the outcome of the casey anthony case.  i can learn from it, hopefully i will, and perhaps these thoughts can help you to do the same.