Remembering the old black and white cowboy movies I have seen, the hero, also known as the good guy, was always dressed in white, and the villain, also known as the bad guy, was decked out in black. Of course, because there were no colored movies yet, this helped the characters stand out. It differentiated between good and evil and visually allowed the viewers to follow the story along with the verbal script. Color films began to be developed in the early 1900’s, but they were not widely commercialized until the mid- twentieth century.
Once color film was developed, we see superhero movies emerging slowly in all their glory of color; therefore, the story and action is how you knew the hero from the villain. As early as 1916 the twelve episode series, French special, called Judex came out, and Mandrake the Magician followed this in 1939. Closely on their heels, Superman, Batman and Robin, and the Adventures of Captain Marvel began to crop up in theaters and have not stopped since. In the 21st Century, besides the reworking of the old superhero movies, Wonder Woman, Cat Woman, X-men, Blade, Dare Devil, Hulk, Hell Boy, The Fantastic Four, Iron Man, and so many more that any small child could probably rattle off readily. It was and still is exhilarating to see the Star of the Show, the Superhero, bring the villain down, who will do anything and everything to promote themselves and their agenda, with no regard to anyone else.
We want to follow the hero in this article, aka the one in white, rather than the villain, the one in black. We will be discussing Ethics and Morals, rather than the lack thereof; because a life lived without ethics, morals, principles, scruples, and the love of God, will only end in tragedy. The last man standing will be the hero, not the villain. Even if some people may try to fool us or think they can beat the system and get by on their own, on the judgement day the truth will become clear. Ethics and morals are two absolutes, and not optional.
The dictionary definition of ethics is, “a set of moral principles: a theory or system of moral values, principles of conduct governing an individual or a group, a consciousness of moral importance, a set of moral issues or aspects (such as rightness), the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation.” And the definition of morality is, “a discourse, statement, or lesson, a literary or other imaginative work teaching a moral lesson, a doctrine or system of moral conduct, particular moral principles or rules of conduct, conformity to ideals of right human conduct, moral conduct: virtue.” These should be incorporated into our everyday life, no matter where, when, or what we are involved in.
Part of the requirements of my current job is to constantly be pursuing opportunities of continued education to assist in the position we hold, or for our career path in general for now and in the future. One of the training courses I took recently was called, “Ethical Leadership” taught by Frank Bucaro. Speaking of the ethical puzzle, he stated, “The culture of the organization is shaped by the worst behavior the leader is willing to tolerate.” I will state that this would go both ways. Neither those leaders or those following should have to tolerate disrespect or being in the company of someone who has no solid foundation of principles. What we tolerate will determine if this partnership is going to be an uphill or a downhill road. I would like to share the concepts he expounded on.
“Values, morals, and ethics are a three-legged stool: Values equal people’s judgement as to what is important. Morals are the right and wrong, and the principles that people believe in. Ethics are the right and wrong behaviors that people conduct themselves by.” We all know what happens to a three-legged stool that loses one or more of its legs. It will not stand because the balance has been compromised. This can be seen in an example of a camera tripod. The reason for using one would be to assist in steadying the camera to take a clearer picture, or to allow you to be in the picture while taking it hands free. Yes, you could take an awkward selfie holding the camera or phone, but the perspective of the picture will be drastically changed. The tripod will be rendered useless if one of the legs is broken.
I remember when I first attempted to take selfies, they always ended up being what I called, nostril shots.’ I figured out that it was because I was looking at the camera trying to see the picture before taking it, which would have been fine, except for the fact that I ware bifocals and could not see the camera unless I tipped my head back. LOL. I have seen oddly configured selfies from others posted on social media as well, which made me think that a tripod would have really come in handy.
Another example that will be familiar to most is a painter’s easel. The canvas rests on the easel in an upright position so that the artist can see their masterpiece as it evolves, in the same light as the art aficionados who purchase it, will see it as it hangs on their wall. If they had to lay the canvas on a flat surface, the perspective would be entirely different. The easel definitely becomes the star here.
As the lesson continued, Frank mentioned, “Life perspective and leadership compliance refer to the letter of the law, and the reaction to it.” There are rules and regulations that are set forth in organizations, whether it be our jobs, other financial institutions, government, churches, communities, and even our homes, which are expected to be adhered to. To not do so could be seen as subordinate, disrespectful, and in the case of churches, some would go as far as to say you are rebellious and therefore sinning. However, I would add here that righteousness cannot be legislated. However, we cannot be saved on our own merits; submission, following, and cooperation with others, including our leaders are principles taught in the Word of God as well as submitting to God’s Word. These are paramount to any success we might hope to achieve. A few verses come to mind here. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 5:21 says, “Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.” And 1 Peter 5:5 says, “Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resists the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.”
On the other hand, ethics is a proponent of the ‘spirit of the law’ and how you choose to be initiative-taking and willingly compliant with the rules, while maintaining a good attitude. There is a cute story told which says, “Little Johnny was in class one day wiggling, getting up and down, talking to friends, and making a general racket, as he did most days due to his excess energy, which is otherwise known as having ‘ants in the pants.’ The teacher had told him several times to be quiet and sit down, with the last time being louder and with a much sterner tone, with the consequence that if he did not comply, she would have to send him to the principal’s office. So, Johnny decided to obey, we do not know for how long, but as he sat down, he stated, “Well, I might be sitting down on the outside, but I’m standing up on the inside!” We can see that though he reacted to what she had requested eventually, and did obey, his attitude and actions did not demonstrate the ‘spirit of the law.’
The ’spirit of the law’ and the ‘law of the Spirit’ as the Bible teaches are very closely related and can make life in any scenario more pleasant. Romans 8:1-6 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh, do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”
Let us read a small portion of how Jesus described the ‘spirit of the law’ in Matthew 5:38-45, “Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asks you, and from him that would borrow from you turn not thou away. Ye have heard that it hath been said, thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” We see this goes far beyond just the commandments of dos and don’ts.
Ethics means making tough decisions, which will have a payout at the end. Acting and making hard choices and doing the right thing, which may not be the most popular. The unethical approach is taking the road of least resistance. These people make the easiest decision that will bring instant gratification and microwave benefits, and whether it is the right thing or not, is of no consequence to them. They are just going with the flow and will step on others if needed, to get to where they want to be. You can draw your own conclusion of which to follow and aspire to, by comparing these two scenarios with the words of Jesus we just read.
Knowledge is the information you know, and the stuff you accumulate, but wisdom is what you do with it. Occupational fraud is the misuse or misappropriation of what you have and know. This includes people, their minds, time, and efforts that have been entrusted to you as a leader. We honestly cannot force anyone to do anything they do not want to do. If we attempt this, in government and politics it would be perceived as a dictatorship, in religious circles it would be viewed as sinning, brainwashing or A Cult, in the job place it would be called harassment, and at home undue force would be considered abuse. Putting undue pressure on folks in your charge to comply ‘just because,’ to compromise their beliefs, and do things they are not in agreement with, or comfortable with, is considered coercion.
Global misconduct is at an all time high, with everyone labeling it as ‘politically correctness.’ This will have a trickle down effect from leaders all the way to employees, in the workplace, saints in the pew, children in the home, or just general citizens. This erodes the backbone of doing the right thing, aka having good solid ethics, morals, scruples, and principles, while putting people in constant ‘immediate gratification mode,’ with no regard for the long term consequences.
Retaliation and revenge seem to be the order of the day, with everyone looking out for themselves, putting us in the role of the villain rather than the hero, yet we are unaware that the script has been flipped. Though the world may think this is acceptable, the teachings of the word of God are completely opposite to that school of thought. Morality begins to spiral when we begin to think that wrong is right, or evil is good. What may have started with a trivial lie, will snowball into larger and larger lies to continue to cover up what you have said or done before. Numbers 32: 23 tells us what will happen if we do not turn back to the Lord, “But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out.” We know that even if you dress the villain in white, he will still be the villain. Jesus called the Pharisees on this in Matthew 23:27 when he said, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.”
Negative ethics would be considered, things not to do, implying obligation. Positive ethics on the other hand are the guidelines of what ‘to do,’ which is how to apply obligation. People view the Bible as being a proponent of negative ethics, only telling us what not to do, filled with constant thou shalt nots. This leaves the participants feeling picked on, micromanaged, frustrated, and a lack of morale ensues, because they feel like they are unable to attain the expected standard. While indeed this was essentially the plight of the Old Testament, which could be perceived as leaning toward the negative, the New Testament offered a way to fulfill the ethical and moral demands of God, which turned the negative into a positive, the villain into a hero, the lost into found, and the sinner to saint, through faith.
Galatians 3:22-27 says, “But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Jesus was the star aka superhero of the New Testament and remains so for those who believe in Him. He fulfilled the ‘letter of the law’ and personified the ‘spirit of the law.’ After his death, burial, and resurrection, he returned to us in a spiritual form, as what we know as the Holy Ghost, allowing us to ‘star’ in the show also and bring hope to a world that has been stripped of ethics, morals, and principles by the villain, aka the enemy of our souls, Satan, who continues to lash out at us because he knows that he is already defeated. Our superhero told us in John 14:2-3, “…I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” This reminds me of an old hymn we used to sing, written by AP Carter in 1931, called, “This World is not my Home.” The second line says, “I’m just passing through.”
We must be watching and waiting for his return, by continuing the mission that he came to do on earth. He shared that mission with us in Luke 19:10 which says, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” And commanded us to continue it in Mark 16:15-16, “And he said unto them, go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” Proverbs 11:30 says, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that wins souls is wise.” We must seek wisdom from above to get the enormous job he has entrusted to us done. Daniel 12:3 says, “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.”
I want to share a short story that I read recently by Barbara Johnson, called, “You’re a Star!”
Have you noticed how Americans have gone starstruck? Our desire to know more about the lives of the rich and famous seems to be insatiable. We are obsessed with the faces of movie stars and inquiry into their private lives. Talk shows, news programs, women’s and even news magazines, seem to be moving further from true journalism and more toward fluff about the famous. What’s happening to us, anyway? Have we given up real life to take on ‘reel’ life? It seems like we all wish we were stars.
Did you ever wonder what it would be like to be one? Well, you are! You are God’s Kingdom star. You may be overweight, sport age spots, find a new wrinkle in your face now and then. None of that matters. For your beauty is generated from the inside. Stars are little suns; they generate their own light.
When my boys were small, we bought some decals in the shape of stars and constellations to put on the ceiling of their bedroom. When the lights were turned off, the decals glowed in the darkness, making the ceiling luminous and sparkly. When the boys’ friends came over to spend the night, they enjoyed bedtime. They’d run to turn off the light and then just lie beneath the blankets enjoying the night time sky. The magic of Starlight captured their imagination.
I thought of that recently when we were visiting our youngest son, Barney, who lives in the country. The stars in the rural Nevada skies were brighter than anything we used to see in Los Angeles where the boys grew up. Barney remembered the glittery decals from his room and is happy to now be raising his children where they see the real thing.
How many stars are there? Astronomers don’t know. They assure us the cosmos contains more stars than can be counted. Did you ever think about how a new star is created? In physics, nuclear fusion occurs when two separate elements are forced together. Through extreme pressure and temperature, a surge of energy is suddenly released. The elements are transformed into something entirely new. A star!
In this Dark World, our material life and spiritual life are forced together under the pressure of trials and troubles. The hotter it becomes the more explosive it becomes. Energy is released in the power of the Holy Ghost and a brand new being is created. We are transformed into a bright force, giving off light and warmth. Our testimony may mean that someone, somewhere, will find his or her way home. Someone will stop to wonder about God. Someone with a heavy load will take comfort in Starlight.
But there is more. It’s like this: a little girl was walking one evening with her mother. She looked up at the stars in the sky and said, “Mommy if the wrong side of heaven is this beautiful, imagine what the right side looks like!”
We may not appear to amount to much but imagine how we’ll look when we’re turned right-side out!
The Psalms exhorted the stars to praise God. I think he was thinking of the top side of heaven. When we get there, all our questions will be answered because there will be no shadows, no dark corners, no place to hide from the light. In heaven, we will realize the true brilliance and beauty of our lives.
As the lesson I heard on ethical leadership continues, there are points that are helpful here. It mentioned that the values we profess often are disconnected from the behavior that we demonstrate. This modus operandi will not accomplish the job that we are called to do in this world. We must not only ‘talk the talk’ but ‘walk the walk.’ What people see is what they will follow and reflect on, and emulate, not what they hear us rattling on about no matter how eloquent a speaker we may be or think we are. This is true from the children in our homes and schools, to the saints in our churches, to the employees on the job, and to every relationship we will have in our lifetime. The ‘letter of the law’ can be presented in a handbook of rules, but the ‘spirit of the law’ will be learned through an emotional and spiritual connection of relationship between the leader to the follower. People are looking for those who have ethics and morals. Those who have a backbone and courage to do the right thing, even in the face of opposition.
I encourage you to be the one dressed in white, aka the hero in your world and not the villain in black. There are plenty of those to go around. The world needs us to shine like the ‘stars’ we are, and lead them to our superhero, Jesus. He told us in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” What hope and power that statement exudes, yet he was not all talk; He always acted upon his promises. Allow that ‘Superman’ outfit you’re wearing under your street clothes, which says ‘Child of the King’ to show! Throw on the ‘cape’ of the Holy Ghost with confidence today. Go influence your world and make a difference in someone’s life.
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