Moral Compass

Although I did not invent the term, I do like to consider the concept of "MORAL COMPASS". Have you heard that term before? What does it mean to you?

As you probably know, a compass is a device to allow you to find your direction. I see a "moral compass" as a similar device that allows me to find my way through life, especially when it comes to making right and wrong decisions. My moral compass needs to point to a "true north", which the Bible provides. The Word of God is the one source of absolute truth to which my moral compass can point and allow me to find direction. It is my "true north". When I am presented with choices in which I can either tell the truth or lie, cheat or not, commit adultery or not, or treat someone with love and respect, or not... I often don't have a lot of time to think it over. I need to "glance at my compass" and make a quick decision. Because I focus my mind and heart on knowing the Word of God, I usually make the right choice... In some cases I have not made the right choice, and there are always consequences of that poor choice.

There are two verses to read and meditate on as you consider the concept of having a strong moral compass. One is Colossians 2:8 (C28). "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ." This one is very important because if you replace your moral compass true north with one based on "hollow and deceptive philosophy" that depends on human tradition, you are bound for failure. One obvious example is that our culture believes that you can pretty much sleep around with anyone and it is ok... that there aren't real consequences. Well, as you know that is contrary to God's word (true north) which teaches that sex is for marriage and God intended it to be a wonderful and awesome commitment shared between a husband and wife. To use it otherwise is to fall victim to the hollow and deceptive philosophy of the world... and there are consequences for it.

The other verse is part of Proverbs chapter 2: "...if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding...Then you will understand what is right and just and fair - every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will protect you and understanding will guard you."

Amen! If that does not describe the "true north" in our MORAL COMPASS, then I don't know what does!

Having a strong and true moral compass is not only important for making "big" important decisions. The moral compass is also critical for normal, everyday decisions because those are the ones that sometimes cause us to trip up, fail, and make a big mistake. It's a matter of keeping the moral compass with you at all times to stay on course, not just for those big decisions but also for daily life as well... that is why it is so important to stay well-grounded and rooted (solid) in the Word... so as to always have the compass based on that "true north" that we wrote about... God's word and His truth.

-atg-