The Demise of Virtue

    The other day I got some coffee at a gas station near me. They had no sugar so I used two packs of Splenda. When the warm brew hit my tongue and lips my eyes immediately began to squint. "Um..okay that is definitely not sugar," I thought. Yes it was sweeter but not the kind of sweet that I wanted or was accustomed to. For me Splenda did not deliver the sweetness sugar is made to do. The way our society lives and views "virtue" verse the way virtue should be lived is a lot like the difference between splenda and sugar.

   Sugar and splenda both deliver sweetness but splenda is artifical. So too is it with God's virtues and virtues with the worldly twist on them. Goodness can come from both 'virtues' but only God's virtues have true intrinsic values that are life transforming.

For example, kindness and generosity are some virtues on the surface of the spectrum that the world only detracts a little from. These virtues deliver the same goodness but at the core the world does them out of greed or want of attention.  The detracted virtues exclaim, "Look everyone see what I have done!" An example of a virtues the world try's to update and alter a little too much is the virtue of Purity or Chasity. The world changes the way one is to be pure or chaste by allowing certain fashions or lifestyles to abound. Or if it is to be lived in a Godly code the reason and benefits are for worldly desires and wants. Worldly individuals are not pure or practice abstinence because God calls them to do this. They do not do it out of respect for their dignity of their own bodies and other people's dignity. But rather they are doing this to better suit their own success, further their own education, and not get complicated with others. Some individuals even live out Abstinence for a healthier lifestyle, but not necessarily out of spiritual reasons. Now this is still good, but it is better to be grounded with virtue that comes from God.

    The world has redefined a lot of virtues. One of the biggest virtues that got redefined is the virtue of Tolerance. Tolerance is a moral virtue and is completely different than what it was originally defined a few hundred years ago as. The Webster dictionary defines Tolerance as "Tolerance is the thoughtful virtue resolutely between intolerance and nontolerance. Tolerance is the virtue that makes peace possible." The dictionary then goes on to state in error "Tolerance allows people the liberty and personal freedom of self-determination." This is incorrect and dangerous. This line is basically saying individuals decide for themselves what is true and false, or what is right or wrong. So even if someone is doing something ethically wrong or causing harm to someone they should still be able to perform the act because they can self determine if they are in the right. This implies evil should be allowed.

    Fulton J. Sheen famously said, "Tolerance applies only to persons, but never to principles." Our modern world has the quote switched around. The corrupted culture tolerates any principle under the sun. But it discriminates against races, murders unborn babies, and silences practicing Christians. An example of this is during Covid 19, states could tolerate Abortion clinics being open, but Churches had to be closed.

    The error in tolerating principles is that: We have to accept and appreciate the sin. We inherently have to sit on the fence while lies are being spread as if they were true. Every good Christian knows if you sit on the fence you will get impaled by it. A Christian response to seeing someone living a morally corrupt life or doing anything ethically wrong should be made out of of true tolerance. True tolerance is saying and showing:

    1. Yes I still care about the person and their dignity as a human being. 

    2. I won't treat them any different for the actions they choose to do, or for the beliefs that they hold.

    3. But I won't allow myself to believe or fall for the false lives they are living.

    4. I still choose to Love them, and will let the Holy Spirit guide me in how to best show that love. The Holy Spirit might move me to approach and just listen to them. The Paraclete might have me go counsel them. Or the Divine Spirit might have me at a distance showing through my own life how one must live. Each case will be different.

    5. Practice the golden rule. Treat others the way you would want to be treated. A good example of this is if you go to a dealership to buy a car. Lets say a mechanic friend of yours goes with you. The car salesmen shows you a couple cars and you decide to get one. The price sticker on the car shows $7,000 dollars and you are willing to pay that price. Your friend knows the price is high, because he can see the back tires need replaced. And during the test drive he hears the brakes squeaking. You are oblivious because you just don't know much about cars. Your friend has a choice of whether or not to inform you to either pay less for the car or to just not get it at all.

    You probably would want to hear his advice. However, you wouldn't want to hear it in a demeaning way like, "Are you stupid, you should really pay $5,000 for this piece of junk." And I bet you wouldn't want to hear your friend share advice in a condescending way like, "I have been a mechanic for 15 years and through my extensive expertise I know this car is worth $5,000 dollars." 

     You would be eager to listen to his advice if he humbly shared, "Hey _______ do you see the back tires, they seem kind of worn? And on the test drive did you hear the brakes squeaking? Because I thought I did. I think you can get this car for a little cheaper than the sticker price."

    If your friend shared that with you, he would be a great friend. We are called not only to help like that in a car lot, but also in the spiritual needs of  the people in our lives. One must use wisdom and empathy to help another.

    Hopefully our other virtues won't become like how the world made tolerance. The world calls us to live Godly virtues, but without God. This makes virtues have no concrete anchor. This also plays a role in why so many young people are leaving religion. Because young people understand we live in a world where virtues need to be lived, but they don't know what true virtue is. They witness examples on how to live a  good life, but they aren't the correctly motivated examples. Most young people don't know any better.  They sense its good to be kind to others. So for an example they donate clothes to charity, but just like popular culture icons they do it because the attention they get for doing the good deed makes them feel good. Young people as well as any age person often times might not understand the true intentions of living a virtuous life. In reality when one performs Godly virtue such as love or kindness, it is really a reflection of the love and kindness God gives unto us. This makes us feel good, because we come closer to God when we do virtuous act. So let us strive harder today to live a virtuous life, and let us make sure it is of God.