Ethics or morals are principles of conduct or a system of beliefs which a person lives by or is governed accordingly. Honesty and/or integrity are essential elements of ethics as well. Adherence to one’s ethics requires discipline and accountability coupled with constant and persistent self assessment and introspection. In assessing my code of conduct, I ask the following questions – what standard do I personally portray? what kind of example am I to others? do I exercise proper discernment between right and wrong? do I allow myself to be deceived? do I deceive myself in order to justify my beliefs/ethics? how do my ethics affect not only me but those in my midst?
Ethics contribute to the distinguishable nature of one’s character. Father Richard M. Gula asserts in his book, Ethics in Pastoral Ministry that motives, intentions, attitudes and disposition constitute one’s character. Intrinsic to a person’s character is their belief system or ethics as well. At the core of ethics should be a people to people ecology – I am my brother/sister’s keeper. The Bible holds the key to the intended ethical nature of all humanity. An indivisible entity, the Bible is a document of spiritual and historical relevance. Depending upon interpretation and usage, it has been and can be an indispensable tool of liberation or a weapon of mass destruction and oppression. The Bible is the infallible word of God as depicted by His inspired prophets and the story of a people. It is an expose on God’s nature and the nature of the human family. People to people ecology/ I am my brother/sister’s keeper – a sound and viable belief purported in the Bible – should constitute a person’s ethical core. Since the dawn of time, one man’s heaven has been another man’s hell because of lack of adherence to such a principle. The plethora of ills plaguing the planet and the human family today is the result of a world ethically void due to rapacious materialism and technological prowess.
Ethical ministry is rooted in the merger of skill and character Father Fula ascertains. Mere “religious vocation” void of professional rules and expectations renders counterproductive results. Fula asserts that “the positive meaning of being professional connotes a specialized competence, a commitment to excellence, integrity, selfless dedication to serving the community, and to holding the public trust. These are features everyone wants to consider characteristics of pastoral ministry as well (p 13). “ He further contends that four distinct features comprise professional duties – “(1) specialized knowledge and skills; (2) service of fundamental human needs; (3) commitment to the other’s best interest; and (4) structures for accountability (p 51).” This proper combination ensures effective ethical ministry. Most importantly, it combines ethics/morality and spirituality, an essential element needed to embark on the journey/quest for God.
As previously mentioned, honest self-introspection and assessment are essential in ethical maintenance. It allows one to explore and eventually become the person they are destined t be. A minister must be accountable to their beliefs otherwise how can they teach and expect others to do likewise. Most importantly, compromising one’s principles for the sake of popular approval and expediency jeopardizes the best interest of those they serve. In the Book of Isaiah, the rebellious Children of Israel wanted the Prophet Isaiah to blatantly lie to them. “That this is a rebellious people, lying children who will not hear the law of the Lord. Who say to the seers, See not and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things; speak unto us smooth things, prophecy deceits (Isaiah 30: 9-10).” Ethical ministry requires almost demands telling/teaching the people what they need to hear as opposed to what they want to hear. From the Khmer Rouge and Darfur genocide to the unjustified U.S. invasion of Iraq, the Wall Street financial meltdown and The Peanut Corp. of America scandal (recent salmonella outbreak in the U.S.) – all indicative of the aforementioned premise.
“Go ye, therefore,” commanded Jesus “and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. (Mathew 28:19)” He in essence is advocating the initial purpose of man outlined in Genesis in that God made man in his image to be a representative of Him on earth (Genesis 1:26). At the core of an effective ethical ministry, the shift should be the idea of God-consciousness and moral responsibility- not from the viewpoint of religious sectarianism, but rather from the perspective of truth, justice, morals and ethics. We should focus on these Godly principles as opposed to the dogmas and personalities of any particular religion. God represents that which is true and right. Truth is the correct knowledge and understanding of reality. That which creates, sustains, and maintains life in harmony with the natural cycles of this planet, doing no harm to the ecology or people of the Earth- is right These definitions of Godliness, Truth, and Rightness often seem esoteric, but if they can be defined then they are knowable and thus attainable (Knowing Truth can make you free). These principles have been downplayed and sometimes forcibly eliminated from discourse in institutions of government, education, and especially business and technology – thus fading from society’s consciousness. ‘Greed is good’ and ‘Looking out for number one’ has replaced ‘I am my brother’s keeper’ and ‘Do onto others as you would have them do onto you’ as society’s current mottos. Heaven and hell may not exist up in the sky or below the ground as many have deduced. They may reflect a state of mind on earth. Prayerfully there will come a day, with help of ethical ministry, when another man’s heaven will not be another man’s hell.
Bibliography
- Scofield, C.I. Reverend, Editor. The Scofield Study Bible. Oxford University Press: New York, 1917.
- Gula SS, Richard M. Ethics in Pastoral Ministry, Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1996.