Right and Wrong

Everyone has a moral code - there are certain behaviors that some deem to be right and others deem to be wrong.  And, in a morally relativistic culture, we have seen where people will make up their own morality, without any sort of objective standards.  I would say that few embrace an "anything goes" philosophy, and there artificial, personal lines that some will not cross.

But, what are the standards?  The Bible is clear about certain behaviors - what is wrong in the eyes of God.  And, these are given to us because our Heavenly Father knows what is best for us. Throughout Ephesians 5 (ESV), we can see a list of behaviors that do not contribute to living according to the standards of Scripture.  One passage says:
3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.
4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.
5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous ( that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

A Gallup poll from this summer identifies 20 behaviors about which respondents were asked regarding whether or not these behaviors were "morally acceptable" or "morally wrong."  The top behavior regarded as immoral is "extramarital affairs," which 89% regarded as morally wrong.  That was followed by human cloning, at 87%.

The survey summary notes: "...majorities of Americans, ranging from 51% to 71%, think suicide, polygamy, pornography, cloning animals, changing one’s gender and sex between teenagers are morally wrong."  54% said that so-called "gender change" was morally wrong, but 4-in-10 said that was morally acceptable.

But, while adultery is considered wrong by the majority of respondents, sex between two unmarried people and having a baby "outside of marriage" are considered acceptable by two-thirds of survey respondents. Gay marriage and gambling follow close behind on the acceptability scale.  The most "morally acceptable" behaviors: birth control, at 90%, and divorce at 75%.

Abortion was also a subject that was listed - just less than half rated it morally acceptable, with 4-in-10 saying it is morally wrong. But, as the summary notes: " Although a 49% plurality of Americans say abortion is morally acceptable, this is down from the 54% record high in 2024."

And, there are differences by age; for instance, the summary relates: "Solid majorities of young adults (aged 18 to 34) but less than half of older adults (aged 55 and older) believe two behaviors are morally acceptable: changing one’s gender and abortion." Gallup notes: "Americans’ views on the morality of 20 behaviors have remained largely stable since last year, with extramarital affairs and cloning humans the least morally accepted and the use of birth control and divorce the most accepted," adding, "Perceptions of only two behaviors are significantly different — views of the moral acceptability of abortion and changing one’s gender have each edged down this year."

That is just a bit heartening regarding those two behaviors.  But, one has to ask (which is not indicated by the summary), what are these moral judgments based on?  Are they driven by societal pressures or perceived norms, determined by what others think, what influences on social media embrace, or the way someone was raised?

The truth is - these standards are rather subjective, and could grow out of a "me first" mentality, a philosophy that could be characterized as "my truth."  But, without an objective standard, a moral judgment can merely be an uniformed opinion, and that has personal and societal implications.  A laissez-faire attitude toward human life, marriage and divorce, or sexuality and gender can not only warp personal morality, but impose those opinions on society, resulting in the deaths of millions through abortion and the breakdown of the family.

That is why we need the Bible to determine our moral code.  And, everyone has one.  It's a matter of how that code determines a person's actions.  The Bible is not just some sort of rule book, but it does reflect the heart of God, the heart of a loving Heavenly Father who knows and communicates what's best for us.  Our call as Christians is to not be led by what we think on a matter, but what we know about God's viewpoint on a subject - and then make our decisions accordingly.