“Integrity is not a 90 percent thing, not a 95 percent thing; either you have it or you don't.” Peter Scotese
I heard a statement the other day about a thief that went like this, “Deep down inside he’s a good person.” To me that statement says two things loud and clear: 1) the thief knew the difference between right and wrong; and 2) the thief made a clear choice that stealing was okay for him to do.
If we define morality as knowing the difference between right and wrong, then Moral Fitness is evidenced by how we live our lives every day. Moral Fitness is the outward expression of your values in all areas of your life.
As a society, we need guidelines, rules and laws by which we are willing to conduct our lives in order to remain stable and in agreement with a common community. It used to be that the majority of Americans agreed on what was right and what was wrong or bad. Doing what was right was expected of everyone and wrong actions were punished.
However, today morality has become subjective. It is often determined by a review of the circumstances including a person intentions. Even the cost of time and money to bring the infraction to justice is frequently a deciding factor.
So, the petty thief is allowed to walk away with a handful of cigars. The bank writes off a bad loan because it would be too costly to collect, and the country turns its collective head when the political leadership violates his or her oath of office.
There is a real problem with this kind of behavior. Even a small hole gets deeper and deeper if we keep digging in the same place. While Moral Fitness is a personal choice each of us must make, there are laws, rules and ethical guidelines we need to follow in order to keep the very fabric of our country intact. Be sure and comeback next week to read and discover the ultimate source for our ethical behavior.
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