Elevate your life

„Don’t be overly righteous, neither make yourself overly wise. Why should you destroy yourself?” (Ecclesiastes 7:16).

Moral arrogance is a little known concept, but with a meaning that deserves to be taken into account.

„Moral arrogance involves truly believing that one’s own moral stand or judgment is the only correct option regarding a controversial issue, even though others consider differing moral decisions or judgments to be morally acceptable”[1].

In life we meet various cases of moral disagreement. These are valuable opportunities for our maturity as persons able to make connections and make decisions. But in order to respect the others’ freedom of choice or of conscience, it takes an important dose of wisdom, so that our moral judgment does not turn into moral impertinence  –  „I impose my decision no matter if the others want this or not; I am the only one who thinks in the right way – thus I will be their strength and brains”.

Every individual is important! But the moral arrogant (man or woman) ignores people’s diversity of own thinking and diversity of consciousness strengthening.

The moral arrogant is an extremely rigid and inflexible person, generalizing his own decision and arguments. But when he (or she) knows inwards that he/she might be wrong (but he/she can no longer step back), the moral arrogant  uses a dishonest trick: he tries to replace the ‘absolute morality’ of God with a “moral relativity”, applicable to his own case; he states that for a controversial issue  –  from which the moral arrogant may find it difficult to be percieved as an honest persons  –  God has, in fact, 1000 responses, which are derived from variable moral principles (which is not confirmed by the Bible!).

Such an unfortunate attitude constitutes a moral impertinence against God but also against fellows: see the decision of the Supreme Court of U.S.A. to impose a categorical legislation and applicable sanctions related to the freedom of gay couples in a society where for many people this “historic moral decision” represents a real problem!

The fact that more rational people respond differently to a particular matter which raises issues of morality, proves that similar persons still have different levels of moral awareness that can not fit 100% into a certain pattern (beacause of a multitude of factors for which there is not enough space to be enumerated and described).

But what does it means? It means to be humans of relativism? … to accept any solution and response given by the others?

„The believer must give unqualified support of absolute honesty, sexual purity, the sanctity of human life, and other such moral absolutes. Sometimes, however, we communicate our convictions and/or we seek to uphold standards with moral arrogance. We heap condemnation upon those whose conduct we consider to be reprehensible. We treat with disdain those lifestyles that do not measure up to our concepts of right and wrong. We adopt a belligerent stance toward those whose opinions, we feel, are contributing to moral disintegration. Sadly, such an attitude does not at all represent the compassion of Christ toward those who are lost (…). Our harshness and rigidity drive people away from the very truth that is the only remedy for the errors that so offend us. We make righteousness seem ugly rather than beautiful” (Maurice Irvin, editor of Christian and Missionary Alliance[2]).

In the Holy Scripture we find a series of moral arrogance attitudes even when considering generally noble biblical characters: Joseph in front of his brothers before being taken to Egypt (Genesis, chapter 37), James and John who wanted to be the greatest in God’s Kingdom (Mark 10:35-45), Simon Peter who struck the high priest’s servant when Judas betrayed Jesus (John 18:10-11) and so on.

This means that the temptation of moral arrogance, knocks on the door of each of us. In such cases, even if we are wrong, we must rethink our attitudes in terms of what others feel in relationship with us, basing on the attitudinal example left by Jesus.

No matter how much vary one’s moral principles from our own ones  –  that person is also a beloved child of God, for whom the blood of Sacrifice is valid! Related to people that we judge, we can not encompass all mental influences to which they were exposed in childhood and in adult life, influences that certainly have left their mark on their moral perception!

However, if it is appropriate not to leave ambiguous things in a controversial issue, we have to confront the idea and not the person, our argument keeping the tone of compassion and respect for the other. „The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, and adds learning to his lips” (Proverbs 16:23). „Faithful are the wounds of a friend: but the kisses of an enemy are profuse” (Proverbs 27:6).

Dogmatic people are generally unattractive Christians because of their often “exposed” moral arrogance. They put emphasis on their subjective morality (told „objective” by them), contemning the opinion of others (considered to be impure or immoral) and inhibiting any source of compassion. Such an attitude is not in the spirit desired by God (see Deuteronomy 9:4). „Moral arrogance could turn empathy into a tool to inflate our ego, rather than inspire humility”[3].

Christian history has witnessed tragic periods of moral arrogance (the concept of infallibility of Papal decisions, for example). And now we live in the era of confrontation between (i) the moral relativism of the Western Christians and (ii) the moral impertinence of anti-Christians from the Western world and the East (for example, the desire to impose Sharia law throughout the world).

Therefore moral arrogance is a serious problem that requires serious answers.

At micro-level, for us as Christians, these answers involve attitudes in balance with biblical moral certainties and implicitly with those of the common sense; at macro-level (politics, law system)  we need the same equilibrium which better highlights the moral courage in the tense issues which are continuously filmed by the media.

The moral courage – the courage to take concrete moral decisions in a tense or risky problem, has always been the quality of great leaders in history. Compared to moral arrogance, moral courage is less encountered because it involves taking personal responsibility of  decision making in situations where it is very difficult to make a judgment. Moral courage is the virtue of people often left alone when the person or the social group gets into deep water or does not want to take a decision. The moral arrogant eludes his/her own responsibility in case of failure, but the moral courageous person, due to his/her authenticity and proven compassion,  assumes responsibility in case of failure; and success does not play the peacock in his/her right.

Genuine Christians can’t live without moral judgment and moral courage in the problems of everyday life. These virtues are the mental oxygen of those who follow God. Their life path is smoothed due to their own involvement (they do care), and their paths are definite regardless of context (Proverbs 4:26).

Dear all, each of us has a life that requires a series of responses. May God helps us that our own experience be full of moral … and constructive attitude!

Pro Jesus’ sources:
[1] Gert, Culver, & Clouser, 2006, quoted by Murray J.S. în „Moral Courage in Healthcare. Discussions Related to Moral Courage“, MedScape.com, Issues Nurs. 2010;15(3) 
[2] Irvin M., “Moral Arrogance?”, Christian and Missionary Alliance, August 24, 2015
[3] Wear M., „The Government Shutdown and the Moral Arrogance of our Politics”, The Huffington Post, October 21, 2013
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