Monthly Message, February 2022
Sometimes we equate right and wrong with truth and falsity, as in “That is the wrong answer.”
Sometimes we use right and wrong as a matter of taste, as in “That is the wrong color.” Sometimes we use right and wrong to register offense, as in “I was wronged.” But the main use, the one with which we will concern ourselves here, is the sense of moral correctness, as in “It is wrong to bear false witness.”
The thesis I propose here is that the moral correctness kind of right and wrong is not arbitrary but is rooted in the nature of social existence. That which is right is one social being adding to the happiness and/or well-being of another being, as in you are hungry and I give you good food to eat. In this example, if I were to be aware of your hunger and withhold good food from you, eating it myself in front of you, that would be wrong. This conception of right and wrong thus makes right and wrong into absolutes. Right actions are those which add to the well-being and happiness of the beings one affects with his or her actions, and wrong actions are those which detract from the well-being and happiness of those affected by an action.
I further contend that the commandments of God are not arbitrary. Rather they are expressions of what is right and wrong for humans to do in this sense of right and wrong. Take the Ten Commandments. Each one is given because it leads to either blessing or not cursing other beings. We are commanded not to steal because stealing diminishes the well-being of others. We are commanded to honor father and mother because that adds to the well-being and happiness of our fathers and mothers. We are commanded not to commit adultery because that takes away the well-being and happiness of ourselves and others, even if it is ostensibly done for present pleasure. Pleasure is not always evil, but when physical pleasure becomes the main reason for doing something, that turns the action into an evil, a wrong thing to do. So we may take pleasure in blessing others, but blessing others, doing what is right, should be our objective in every action. Then our life will be filled with happiness. Keeping the commandments of God is the path to true and lasting happiness. Seeking to fulfill our lusts by doing things just for physical pleasure is the counterfeit of happiness.
Our God is trying to help each of his children to enjoy all that He is and does. One thing each must do to come to wield His power is to learn only to bless, even as He only blesses his children and all of His creations. (Yes, each of His so-called cursings is actually a blessing in the long run.)
To cherish receiving commandments from God and gratefully obeying them because that produces right action, which is righteousness, is the ultimate wisdom for all human beings.