Grace…the Essential Ingredient for Ethics

Dear Trekker,
There is one word for which we must never apologize; it is salt and light to every generation, and it is the saving ingredient necessary for any ethic to be successful. That word is grace… a divine gift! There is good reason the Apostle Paul used this phrase over and over again in his writings, “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

The other night our small group leader announced the topic for the evening’s discussion was “ethics”. He gave an overview of Ethics 101 and the discussion took off. After a period of time, and admittedly “chomping at the bit” somewhat, I entered into the discussion. My comments were along this line… all ethical constructs deal with what we “ought” to do, and even though there are different schools of thought, they always deal with the ought. The problem with the “ought”, I observed, is we fail repeatedly to accomplish or complete the ought in our lives, regardless of its origin or purpose, i.e. we don’t do what we know we should do, we make excuses. We say, “well, we all make mistakes”, or, “well, I’m as good as he is”, or, “I’ll do the right thing next time”, etc. Yet we fail again and again. I concluded my comments with these words, “Any successful ethic, or ethical system must deal with the aftermath of the “failed ought”. None do except Christianity, and the missing ingredient is grace and what grace produces.”

We can discuss forever what we ought to do and how we can determine and know what the standard is. We can set the bar high or low. But the central issue always pops to the surface like a bobber… we fail to do what we intend to do, say we will do, or ought to do. Then what?

Enter a loving, understanding God, a God of Surprise. Grace is the expression of love that takes us by surprise because we don’t deserve it. It is the help we didn’t expect, the kindness we need to continue, the second chance we thought we’d never get. It is always there alongside our failure, and is the oxygen of survival.

Grace comes from the Greek word “charis” and simply means favor shown or received, and the disposition to show favor. It is the word used when the angel Gabriel said to the young Mary, “Do not be afraid, you have found favor with God (Luke 1:30), and in Luke 2:40; “the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom and the grace of God was upon him.”

When we fail, without strength “to do the good” or even desire to do so, God’s love and kindness inject grace into the equation. The end result is true life freely offered, at great price, through the crucified and risen Christ. (Trekker… suggest you memorize Romans 3: 23-24, the heart of the Gospel, the good news. And if you are really bold, tackle Saint Paul’s admonition to the Romans, Chapter 5:1-10.) Only grace completes life. It is the essence of transcendent help available to do what any ethic demands, which otherwise is beyond our power. Here is how the Apostle Paul outlines grace in a practical, ethical dilemma: “To keep me from becoming conceited… there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times, I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” II Corinthians 12:7-9.

As I think of ethics in a broad sense, the “ought” is never a problem of definition or education. Define the good any way you choose. The Koran and the Bible on this matter have great similarities. The challenge is always execution and the aftermath of failure. Grace is the answer to be applied, yet it is never an excuse for moral laxity. Even though God forgives, often those we love don’t, and we find it difficult to forgive ourselves. This is at the heart of therapy’s challenge. Things in the arena of “grace applied”, like loving and forgiving your neighbor, are always a bit sticky, are they not? Grace came to us at a tremendous price paid by God, and God’s grace is free, but the application of grace to others (confessional follow through to correct our failures and footprints) is the supreme challenge. I remember the little limerick one of my mentors used to cite with a smile: “It’s easy to love the heathen, far across the shore; my problem seems always, the neighbor next door.” Even as I pen these words, I chuckle at the practicality of it all.

Our small group discussion recorded the difficulty of dealing with a neighbor who wouldn’t pick up their dog’s messes. Gee, trekker, if you can’t get over that hump, or dump, you are really in a world of hurt with the “big stuff” of life. Get over it!

Grace is the aroma of Christ, that one element in life we have too little of. Marriages can’t survive without it. All relationships require it sooner or later; parents better live it or children will never “get” the faith, let alone be in love with him… Jesus, the lifegiver.

The world needs more grace, trekker, and we’ve been given it abundantly. When we set our minds on having the mind (attitude) of Christ and responding to the needs of others, we can achieve unity and harmony. Grace applied shuts the door of division. The lion and the lamb can live together! Sounds good, but not easy. Absolutely… the Kingdom comes on earth in fragments and fractions, initiated so often by failure. Yet failure, need not be fatal. The King is coming and so is the Kingdom, more so as we learn and apply grace to each of life’s challenges. It can be done!

Grace… what a word on which to masticate. Chew on it trekker! Digest it, and bring it up again and again! It is the ultimate answer to every ethical hurdle in life. Accept it… live it… preach it, brother! God’s grace is sufficient!

Grace and peace,
Jim Meredith