Jesus' Shared Wisdom

17: Moral Neutrality

I covered this topic a little in "Churchianity, Part 1" but I wanted to go into more depth on what moral neutrality is. The term moral neutrality refers to anything that cannot make their own decisions or act upon their decisions. Morally neutral objects are unable to create their own thoughts or ideas and cannot make independent choices.

So what counts as a morally neutral object? Well, nearly everything you can think of is morally neutral. Objects like trees, rocks, backpacks, dental floss, pencils, waffles, and cars are morally neutral since they cannot think on their own and cannot act on their own.

These objects were created by either God or by men through God's creations. If humans didn't exist, these objects would remain morally neutral. However, as humans, we have received from God the ability to use these items for either good or evil. God has given us free will to decide if morally neutral objects can be used to follow Him or to turn against Him.

For example, knives are morally neutral objects. They cannot think or act on their own and are subject to human use. People can use knives for morally good causes, such as cutting food to feed people, which can be a morally good act in the eyes of God. However, knives can be brandished against other people, causing harm and pain, which is a morally evil act in the eyes of God.

Overall, we can use the morally neutral objects God has given us to love God and others or to hurt God and others. God has given us the special ability to have mastery and control over these morally neutral objects. There is no such thing as an evil object by itself. A gun by itself can't hurt anyone since it has no control over its actions and can't judge whether actions are good or bad. It can only cause harm due to human actions.

Okay Arkada, I get it. Objects can't hurt people without human actions. Quite a mind blowing discovery. What's the point?

Although this may seem obvious, people actually believe that objects alone can be harmful to God and to people. For example, have you ever had the dilemma of whether wearing a suit or wearing casual clothes was appropriate for church? Have you wondered if a certain type of music or musical instrument would be more or less pleasing to God? Some people believe that you must wear your best clothes to church to show respect for God, while some people believe that you should dress casually to show thankfulness for God's gift of freedom. Some people think that old and classical instruments, such as organs show more respect to God than modern instruments like guitars or drums.

In "Churchianity, Part 1" I described these beliefs as those of the Pharisees. The Pharisees created their own laws about morally neutral items, such as how you had to tithe a certain amount of money or fast a certain amount of times, for example. The Pharisees put man made restrictions on morally neutral items.

Remember than since these laws were man-made, they were destined to be flawed and incomplete. The problem with these laws were that the Pharisees abided by them without having love for God. These laws showed how committed they were to following rules, rather than how much they loved God. Since their love for God and for people was absent, these laws meant nothing to God.

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former." (Matthew 23:23)

This same idea can be applied to the dilemma of today. God doesn't care if you wear a suit to church. God doesn't care about which instruments are used to worship Him. God cares about your love for Him and for others. Remember, God cares more about what you hope to achieve through your actions, rather than what your actions are.

A person wearing their best clothing and a person wearing casual clothing to church are equally righteous in God's eyes. What matters more is what they want to show to God by wearing their clothing. When someone wears a certain type of clothing to show respect and love for God, He will be pleased, no matter what type of clothing they wore. A person that plays the traditional pipe organ without showing love for God is less pleasing to God than a person who plays a guitar with passionate and powerful love for God. Remember, clothes and musical instruments are morally neutral items, since they have no free will or way to act.

"Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre,
Praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe, Praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord."
(Psalm 150: 3-6)

God doesn't care how or what we praise and worship Him with. He cares about our love, faith, and trust in Him. Any morally neutral item can be used to praise God, as long as our feelings are true and filled with love.

Thanks for reading this long chapter! Please share what you learned with anyone you can. I'd love to hear questions about this lesson, since I don't want anyone to be confused. Please watch the video I posted here, since this lesson was mainly based off it and it may clear some confusions. Jesus is always with you!