A friend’s wife has fallen into promiscuity and drunkenness. In one drunken binge she actually pushed her five year old down some stairs causing a mild concussion. What would you advise? To some readers, the resolve seems obvious, “Start the divorce proceedings and throw her out on the streets.”
One evening, while in your office catching up on some paper work, a robber breaks into your business thinking no one is there. You are armed; what should you do? Many would suggest, “Shoot first and ask questions later!”
But these thoughts only exacerbate the problem. In a diversity of opinions, the question has become, “How does one determine the right thing to do?” Over the course of decades, humanity has fallen prey to an age old philosophy that was once unashamedly tagged Situation Ethics. Now it has many names: Ethical Relativism, Contextualism, Relational Ethics, and, more recently, it is simply Relativism. This doctrine of demons has caused many to depart from the once widely accepted Moral Absolutes of the Bible.
Those who promote Relativism would boast of the system’s flexibility and adherence to the guiding principle of love. “The loving thing to do, is always the right thing to do.” But those who embrace this doctrine of subjectivity and relativity, don’t understand what true love is. Love began with God’s love for His creation, and the proper expression of man’s love begins with his love for God (Matthew 22:37-40). Clearly, one’s love for God is evidenced by unwavering obedience to His commands (John 14:15, 21, 23).
Love for our fellow man is also defined in the Laws of God. The last six of the Ten Commandments are the foundational principles upon which human love is based (Exodus 20:12-17). Doing the “most loving thing,” is inseparably linked to obedience to the Word of God. “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. (1John 5:2).” If you are serious about making the right choices in hard situations, you’ll have to understand Moral Absolutes—found only in the Word of God.