Semantics

Have you ever seen the FRIENDS episode where Joey tells Phoebe that "there are no unselfish good deeds" and Phoebe swears she will find a selfless good deed? Here, I Googled it for you; it's The One Where Phoebe Hates PBS. I'm not too sure how this episode ties into the thoughts I've had lately... except that it keeps coming to my mind.

There are almost 7 billion different people on this planet. But probably only 4 or 5 different types of people. I don't know. I have noticed that there is definitely a "moral" type. Take, for instance, our youth group. Take their parents, teachers, church, and rules out of the equation and a couple of the students would still choose to do what is right- these are the "moral" type. I've also noticed a "responsible" type. These are the kids who keep their actions under control. They never get caught because they never get out of hand. I'm sure there are other types, but these are the two that have been standing out to me lately.

Since December, we've been doing a series on Right and Wrong. Well, it started as a series about relationships, turned into a discussion on alcohol, and has led us to defining "right" and "wrong". (Bare in mind, I work with the Sophomore and Junior girls.) In listening to these girls divulge instance after instance of when they chose to do what is right and when they chose to do what is wrong, in addition to reflecting on my own choices, something alarming struck me. Most of the time our choices were based on the path of least resistance, the choice that affected the least amount of people, the most convenient to our lives, the easiest, the least amount of consequences, etc etc. It wasn't until my faith had a growth spurt that I learned I could trust God to take care of those things when I chose to do what was right despite how it may agitate my life. And even though I know that He will, I sometimes still choose to do what is wrong because I think the consequences are worth getting what I want. But just because I can handle it doesn't make it the right choice. I have to admit that. When I asked the girls why they chose to do the right thing in a situation, the answer was never "because it was the right thing to do".

Do you see why I am frustrated? I realized how often our motivations to choose what is wrong will later motivate us to choose what is right. We don't decide we made the "wrong choice" until after it proves to not have worked out the best for us- thus defining "wrong" as whatever puts a kink in our plans. And "right" as whatever makes what we want to happen happen. Interestingly enough, the self-defeating postmodern worldview has crept it's way into every one's lenses. Why? Because it's egocentric. We naturally buy into anything that encourages self-advancement.

What is implied when our "right" actions are motivated by the same thought process that also leads us to choose what is "wrong"?

We are wired to live outside of ourselves. Maslow confirms that. But we hold ourselves back because our greatest flaw is that we naturally do the opposite- we naturally fight for numero uno. Doing what's right for the sake of doing what's right could possibly help with our cyclical ailment.

I apologize for the disjointedness of this post. I had to get these thoughts into complete sentences rather than discombobulated notions.