Moral Virtue Guiding Strategic Perspective Takes Faith
By Jeremy Bell
It is easy to believe that lying is wrong. It is even easier to lie. The unfortunate truth is that while truth is a moral virtue, the observation has been that lies and holding back truth often reward a person. Of course, this must be accompanied by self-justification. Lying may simply be for the benefit of the self, but it is often executed in justice for what people often call ‘the greater good.’ People read current psychology and shop around until they find a narrative that helps them self-justify this moral virtue breaking. Powerful leaders, hated and loved, have lied to gain position. People know lying is breaking a moral virtue rule, and observe that in so doing, it reaps rewards. Statistically, there is little to no accountability or punishment for this moral crime.
Strategic Perspective
Between the immediate strategic perspective and low consequence for breaking this moral virtue, it is easy to manipulate. From an anthropological lens, the self is only accountable to the self (generally). In an existence where self is the judge and sentencer of self, it is a horrifically beautiful display of flourishing evil. Strategic perspective dictates the actions of a person and give justification for any moral virtue that is questioned by others.
Of course, what if the creator of the self is the actual judge and sentencer? What if the creator was perfectly holy, just, and righteous? What if the creator was gracious at the same time? Anthropologically it is easy to observe the cycle of virtue, breaking of virtue, the results mostly positive, and passing this along to the next generation for further development. From an individual view this strategic perspective may be quite successful. For society in general, this is problematic.
God Creates, God Allows
Theocentrically, creator God has set the standard for all moral virtue. God created people, they act, and they will give an account of every act, speech, and thought to Him after their time in life. God created people with choice, and He respects their choices. Those choices come with consequences and choices against the will of God are broken, twisted, selfish, and destroy relationship with Him. God has a plan to redeem people to Himself and manifest His glory through His people.
Through this strategic perspective, His people are justified by Him, declared perfect in moral virtue, and relationship is restored. (All that was needed to accomplish this plan was finished in Jesus, Christ). God commands a person to rely on His creative saving power rather than to lie with the wisdom of the self. Lying, of any kind, brings condemnation. But God is gracious and with true repentance, confession, and humbleness, God forgives. For this, there is reason and spirited cause to rejoice and praise Him.
Repent
Turning to God as God and away from anything else as God is repentance. Transforming individual strategic perspective to the strategic perspective of God is the Christian life. No longer is the Christian conformed to the world. In this life, that repentance is challenged and threatened on a regular basis every day. Lying is wrong and is subject to judgement, even if it is to save one’s life or the life of a loved one. Life experience challenges strategic perspective and tests it. The temptation is to stop trusting God. Hebrews 11 gives a glimpse of the many walks of faith recorded in scripture. Trusting in the promises of God is more important and real than anything this broken reality has to offer.
In Psalm 34 David headlines his song by stating he lied to someone and he was driven away. 1 Samuel 21 contains the whole story. It may be easy to get wrapped up in the flight of David and feel for his innocence. There is a lot of teaching in this story. From my motif analysis, in my book, Psalms in Motif Visualization, I have taken motif sections of Psalm 34 to illustrate a combined story of moral virtue and strategic perspective gone wrong, repentance, and God’s salvation. After that, I will present the Psalm as is.
David Teaches the Grace of God
After David sets this story setting as one in which he lies, he teaches children not to lie and relates it to evil. David, the poor man with a broken spirit and crushed heart may be that way because his friend and mentor is trying to kill him. However, this is a lesson. It is more likely he is this way for breaking the moral virtue standard of God, representing a weak God, and lack of faith in his God. He was afraid and his strategic perspective was on how he might save his life in his own strength.
God promised that he would be king, but if David had that perspective, he would have done more consulting with God, studying of God’s ways, and even trusted that God would be faithful in keeping His promises in the face of the impossible. Much like Abraham trusted in that way when he was about to kill his son, who God said would birth millions. There is good news from David, he repented. He sought refuge with God, he humbled himself before God. God responded and redeemed him. And this was an example for everyone. So, David teaches his sin, his repentance, and God’s graciousness. God is just, righteous, holy, and gracious altogether. Look at the highlights.
[ Psalm 34 ]
By David; when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.
I will bless Yahweh at all times.
His praise will always be in my mouth.
My soul shall boast in Yahweh.
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
Oh magnify Yahweh with me.
Let’s exalt his name together.
I sought Yahweh, and he answered me,
and delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to him, and were radiant.
Their faces shall never be covered with shame.
This poor man cried, and Yahweh heard him,
and saved him out of all his troubles.
Yahweh’s angel encamps around those who fear him,
and delivers them.
Oh taste and see that Yahweh is good.
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
Oh fear Yahweh, you his saints,
for there is no lack with those who fear him.
The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger,
but those who seek Yahweh shall not lack any good thing.
Come, you children, listen to me.
I will teach you the fear of Yahweh.
Who is someone who desires life,
and loves many days, that he may see good?
Keep your tongue from evil,
and your lips from speaking lies.
Depart from evil, and do good.
Seek peace, and pursue it.
Yahweh’s eyes are toward the righteous.
His ears listen to their cry.
Yahweh’s face is against those who do evil,
to cut off their memory from the earth.
The righteous cry, and Yahweh hears,
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart,
and saves those who have a crushed spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but Yahweh delivers him out of them all.
He protects all of his bones.
Not one of them is broken.
Evil shall kill the wicked.
Those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
Yahweh redeems the soul of his servants.
None of those who take refuge in him shall be condemned.
CHANGE TO SOCIAL MEDIA PICTURE
Peter quotes this Psalm and so does John. A good theology method is to look across the landscape of the entire teaching of Scripture to answer questions. Peter quotes this Psalm in the context of moral virtue and gives examples of consequence for this strategic perspective. This is meant for encouragement and for the body of Christ to practice with each other. John quotes this Psalm as a fulfillment of prophecy. Note how the Jews and Gentiles lie, along with other things, but with Jesus, no lie could be found. He was perfect moral virtue, righteous. He was the only one who ever was.
[ 1 Peter 3: 8 – 17 ]
Finally, all of you be like-minded, compassionate, loving as brothers, tenderhearted, courteous, not rendering evil for evil, or insult for insult; but instead blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. For,
“He who would love life
and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking deceit.
Let him turn away from evil and do good.
Let him seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears open to their prayer;
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
Now who will harm you if you become imitators of that which is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “Don’t fear what they fear, neither be troubled.” But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. Always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, with humility and fear, having a good conscience. Thus, while you are spoken against as evildoers, they may be disappointed who curse your good way of life in Christ. For it is better, if it is God’s will, that you suffer for doing well than for doing evil.
[ John 18: 29 – 39, 19: 30 – 37 ]
The Jewish priests and servants of the priests led Jesus to Pilate after interrogating him.
Pilate therefore entered again into the Praetorium, called Jesus, and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered him, “Do you say this by yourself, or did others tell you about me?” Pilate answered, “I’m not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered you to me. What have you done?” Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not of this world. If my Kingdom were of this world, then my servants would fight, that I wouldn’t be delivered to the Jews. But now my Kingdom is not from here.” Pilate therefore said to him, “Are you a king then?”
[ 18: 29 – 39 ] Pilate therefore went out to them, and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” They answered him, “If this man weren’t an evildoer, we wouldn’t have delivered him up to you.” Pilate therefore said to them, “Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law.” Therefore the Jews said to him, “It is illegal for us to put anyone to death,” that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spoke, signifying by what kind of death he should die.
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this reason I have been born, and for this reason I have come into the world, that I should testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”
Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”
When he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, “I find no basis for a charge against him. But you have a custom, that I should release someone to you at the Passover. Therefore, do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”
[ 19: 30 – 37 ] Jesus said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head, and gave up his spirit. Therefore the Jews, because it was the Preparation Day, so that the bodies wouldn’t remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a special one), asked of Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Therefore the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who was crucified with him; but when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was already dead, they didn’t break his legs. However one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.
He who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, that you may believe. For these things happened that the Scripture might be fulfilled, “A bone of him will not be broken.” Again another Scripture says, “They will look on him whom they pierced.”
God Loves
While people were (and are) enemies of God and fighting against Him, He demonstrated His love for them by taking on human flesh and dying. People lie and do so much worse, breaking in some way every moral virtue. All terrible things are not just a broken system around people, individual people are the ones doing the breaking. These are expressions of hatred toward the creator; expressions of self-control. These are expressions of mistrust.
David, Israel’s greatest king, did these terrible things. He also repented and continued to repent to trust God. David recognized his strategic perspective was dark compared to the strategic perspective of trusting in God. He accepted God’s grace and knew that if he trusted God in spite of the circumstances, God would deliver. In this Psalm, he teaches others of the shamefulness of his lie to save his life. He acted insane while running from Saul. Some might think it’s cool, he thought it was sin. He teaches the children not to lie, he teaches humbleness.
Life or Death, God is God
Even in death, God honors His word, He keeps His promises. Jesus had died on the cross and the custom was to break His legs. He could not resist, He was dead. Yet, none of his bones were broken. God is completely in control and has power over death. When Jesus rose from the grave, He proved there is life after death once for all. God has power over life. Lies aren’t the only sin one may commit; they are an example. There is no hope in the self-justifying reasoning of human beings. There is hope in the holy and gracious God, there is hope in Jesus. How might your strategic perspective be transformed today to truly trust in God? Living in God’s strategic perspective is truly to live in the Nature of Joy.
Resources and Notes
All scripture in this article is from the WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE (WEB). The World English Bible (WEB) is a Public Domain (no copyright) Modern English translation of the Holy Bible. The World English Bible is based on the American Standard Version of the Holy Bible first published in 1901, the Biblia Hebraica Stutgartensa Old Testament, and the Greek Majority Text New Testament.
For more related to this blog, check out my post on Truth Basics for Christian Living with Strategic Options.
This is a reliable translation, but it is always good to read other translations as well. Biblegateway.com has a multitude of translations to read from. It is a great resource.
Another great resource is Biblehub.com. There are multiple translations, commentaries, and so much more. Great research can be done on this platform.
One more I use regularly is Gotquestions.org. This is a great site to answer questions and find threads of related questions.
There are many resources. The key is that God wants relationship directly with you, the individual. His primary source for revealing who He is and growing in intimacy is His word, the scriptures. Don’t just read for instruction. Analyze and read for understanding. Explore, ask questions, and be transformed in Jesus every moment you possibly can. There is no dispute this is a key desire of God. People are brough to the Father, in the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit. This… This is the Nature of Joy.
Jeremy is an author, musician, and business intelligence manager. His mission is to equip and encourage those in Christ, to equip and encourage others in Christ. Jesus, Christ, is the Nature of Joy and melody of the heart. Jeremy unites business analytics (business intelligence), songs, and Scripture for Christian living in the power of the Holy Spirit.