Ethics And Me

MON., JULY 17, 1989, 12:55 PM
DUGGAN LIBRARY, SYNOD SCHOOL

I, the Holy Spirit, approve of ethics. It is good to look at issues and decisions in an ethical way… even in ethical ways. The various systems of ethics are mostly of human “invention,” so there is no set code or set of behaviors that are My only ethical system. I influence persons to think, to write, and to theorize about ethical matters, but no one that is developed is solely Mine.

Why is this so? Because I have created humans to be various, in many ways. My purposes do not always fit into ethical systems, and I simply declare that My purposes are always above ethical judgments. And My purposes, though discernable from the Biblical record, are also current and ever new. It can never be said, absolutely, that “The Holy Spirit would not do that” or “The Holy Spirit just must act in this way, and this way only.”

And then I say that I have called some persons to believe, to teach, and to preach fervently that I am a certain way. This is part of the fun of creation. I bring forth and raise up spirits who shall be very certain about certain aspects of life, in opposition to those who feel equally certain in some different way. The attempts to bring all of humankind to a common understanding of the earth and of how humans should and should not act are not going to succeed. Even the Ten Commandments all have exceptions and different ways of being interpreted.

The issue you were considering this morning, control of conception, certainly has a variety of ethical ways to be interpreted. I tell you that conception control is a good, with there being little danger of underpopulating the earth. I tell others that certain ways of controlling conception are right and other wrong. I tell others that all artificial means of preventing conception are not good, even harmful. Which is right? You know that’s a silly question!

In some circumstances death is a good; in others it is a breach of ethical principles. Yet I do not approve of the same conditions for each ethically sensitive person or group. In some cases deaths cause a population imbalance, while in others death helps restore a more sustainable balance. Some bells toll for you. Others do not.

Medical care of the elderly is a provocative issue, in this regard. It can be seen that all forms and levels of medical care are to be considered a right for all of the elderly. Yet services must be paid for, so the ethics of payment must be established. Is it ethical for the well to pay for the sick? Is it ethical to deny a person certain treatments because she cannot afford the cost? Is it ethical to provide a service which is costly and which also prolongs a life, but in a very low quality fashion? Is it then ethical to deprive the patient of further treatment? Is it even ethical to suggest to the patient that he not continue in treatment? Questions, questions.

Actually, there are several ethical answers to each of these queries. It is not necessary to answer these in only one way to be ethical. For one ethic ultimately conflicts with at least one other. I am here to guide you, and even so I may not be consistent. And still I say that I approve of ethics.

Ethics are essential to wholesome family life, community life, and civilization itself. And still I will not endorse one ethical system or ethical judgments as being “the only one.” I am not bothered by this, and neither should you be. You can affirm this only to a few, however. Otherwise you must accept the ethical premises of others with whom you interact.