Moral Guidance

MORAL GUIDANCE
Psalm 119:129-136
V. 133: “Direct my footsteps according to Your Word; let no sin rule over me.”

At a teacher’s conference, the moderator posed this question to middle school teachers: “What is the frequency and number of classroom disturbances, like cheating? Speak up, folks.”

Teachers squirmed, some chuckling. Mr. Graham, Jesse and Trevor’s 6th grade teacher, replied, “Ever since we removed ‘The Ten Commandments’ from the class room, cheating has increased.”

All the teachers nodded their heads in agreement.

“Why is this so?” the moderator quizzed.

“Removing all visible signs of God makes it harder to maintain order. Cheating is just one example” one teacher observed.

“Unruliness, respect for the teacher’s demands is another” a different teacher offered.

“Kind treatment toward other kids has also declined” a third said.

“Some cliques have sprung up that praise kids when they make fun of, put down, or embarrass other kids” another shot out.

“Human behavior is declining into amoral conduct” the moderator mused aloud. “Our jobs have become harder to inspire an atmosphere of morality. Separation of church and state was never intended to keep God out of school classrooms.”

“The original intent was to prevent government from dictating religion to the people” one teacher shared, shaking her head. “We’ve distorted the meaning of our founding fathers’ objective. If you ask me, our entire civilization has been in moral decline—beginning the mid twentieth century.”

“Everything is decaying in our fallen world” the moderator announced. “I think things will continue to get worse, folks, instead of getting better.”

Do you agree?

Centuries ago, the Psalmist understood a need for a moral benchmark. People need divine aid to follow God’s plan for living. The Ten Commandments are our moral guidance of right and wrong. They are the mirror that we have to compare our actions against perfection. They reflect our sin back to us, exhibiting our need to repent.

While the Ten Commandments aren’t a cheat test, they do remind people how God expects righteous living from His children. We can’t see them posted anymore in public, but God wrote them into our hearts (Hebrews 8:10). That’s one cheat test we cannot escape.

Take Home Nugget

Dan Ariely, an economics professor at the Massachusetts’s Institute of Technology, conducted tests on human behavior. He discovered that people who were offered money for correct answers, cheated. But when tested to write down the Ten Commandments, no one cheated.
How’s that for proof of moral guidance?

J.D. Griffith

“How precious is the Book divine
By inspiration given!
Bright as a lamp its doctrines shine,
To guide our souls to heaven.”

Fawcett

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Written for Bible Study for Kids.