When it comes to morality, our society tends to rush to two extremes: either truths are arrogantly imposed on the listener, then people are afraid to use the phrase “moral choice” itself. The arguments of moralists come up against the arguments of nihilists, but as a result, an ordinary person feels antipathy to both “good” and “bad” guys.
Where do the victims begin?
Moral choice is a situation in which a person has to make or not make difficult decisions for himself for the benefit of another person or in accordance with his views and beliefs. The most common question is: is a person ready to sacrifice his comfort and pleasure for the sake of another? Simple everyday questions may also include a moral choice: husband and wife are tired, she’s going to wash the dishes, will he take the initiative or leave him to fight with mud, going to his favorite sofa?
How to discount good
If you think that the given example is too small, you are mistaken. Serious sacrifices can be brought only by people who know how to rule their moral will in small things. A one-time beautiful gesture does not prove that a person is able to consciously and for a long time be committed to the values of kindness. Most likely, a person will soon regret his decision. By the way, in the Orthodox Christian tradition, repentance destroys in the moral sense not only bad, but also good deeds. That is, if a person did good, and then regretted it, then a good deed does not count. So morality is not a single gesture, but a lifestyle.
In my own eyes
If an act does not give a person a visible reward, what makes him choose an uncomfortable option? Psychologists have found that each of us by nature needs to feel good. Therefore, people tend to cheat - but on average, not much. Many will appropriate a small amount of money found, but if the amount is large, they are likely to return it to the owner. That is, inside each person there is something like a counter, a radar, which does not allow him to fall below the bar set for himself. Self-deception on trifles occurs, but serious - only in mentally unhealthy people. So people want to feel “right, ” at least in their own eyes, and are willing to pay for it with unreceived rewards.
Success and moral
The problem of a person’s moral choice, so popular among philosophers and religious figures, turned out to be connected with the general success of a person in life. It turns out that moral choice is connected with a person’s ability to wait for a pending reward instead of receiving it immediately. It turns out that moral people have higher self-control and the ability to achieve goals. So success and morality often go hand in hand. Many very rich people abroad who honestly earned their money give huge amounts to charity.
A person makes moral choices every day. To be true in the big, you need to learn to be true in the small. It seems that this biblical thesis just needs to be believed.
