• Home
  • About This Blog
  • Contact Me
  • Subscribe
  • Comment Policy

Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

  • Westminster Shorter Catechism Series
  • Sermon on the Mount Series
Home Church Leadership 6 principles to avoid moral failure

6 principles to avoid moral failure

Posted on March 8, 2013 Written by Mark McIntyre 2 Comments


Moral Failure

To my knowledge, no-one who experiences moral failure set out to end up there. No-one gets up in the morning and declares that it looks like a good day to fail. Failure is not a goal; it is a consequence of choices made along the way. So how can we avoid moral failure? I think these six principles will help:

  1. Set a relational hierarchy. It is important to understand relational priorities. Jesus tells us that the two great commands are to love God and then to love our neighbor. From this, we know that the relationship with God is first priority. After God comes spouse, children, parents, etc. Understand your priorities and adjust your activities and time spent accordingly. Confusion with regard to relational priorities can open doors that should never be opened.
  2. Do not compromise. Set your standards and stick to them.
  3. Be more concerned about living rightly than being liked. Peer pressure does not end when formal education ends. Friends and coworkers can pressure you to compromise on your values in order to fit in. This can be particularly problematic in work environments when a lack of conformance might cause you to be viewed as not being a “team player.”
  4. Live in the truth. Don’t do anything or go anywhere that you would be embarrassed to have you spouse, children, parents, church family or pastor hear about. Don’t do anything that you would be prompted to lie about if confronted.
  5. Set your boundaries and do not cross them. If the goal is to avoid lust, shows or pictures that some would find acceptable may not be acceptable to you. Jesus said that it would be better to gouge out your eyes than participate in lust. So set a boundary at the point where lust is not a problem and do not cross over it. If you need help in staying within the boundary ask for it.
  6. Focus on ending well. Life is not a sprint, it is an endurance race. The analogy is no less true because it is over used. The secret to finishing strong is to keep moving toward the goal.

Do you have any that you would like to add? Please add them to the comments below.


Filed Under: Church Leadership

About Mark McIntyre

A follower of Jesus Christ who shares observations about how Scripture should impact the church and the world. Mark is the original author and editor of Attempts at Honesty.

Follow Attempts at Honesty

Honesty in your Inbox

Two Years

After two whole years . . .

Do you think that Joseph struggled with self pity during that time? Do you think that he questioned himself and his God while lingering in prison? Do you think that Joseph whined to God occasionally? Joseph had gone from favorite son to prisoner through no fault of his own.

Prayer – Pitfalls to avoid

In Matthew 6, Jesus gives us two pitfalls to avoid when praying: 1. Don’t pray to impress the people around you. 2. Don’t use meaningless repetition

Christianity Boosts Education, Quality of Life in Asian Countries

This is a guest post by Sarah Brooks whose biographical information appears in the author box below this post. If you would like to provide a guest post to Attempts at Honesty, please see the guest post guidelines and contact me if you are interested in providing a post. Sarah Writes Although often considered a primarily […]

Gutenberg, Google and the Church

Gutenberg could not have imagined the speed of communication today. The church has the opportunity to use this speed to proclaim the Gospel.

Morris Cross

Leon Morris on the Triumph of Christ

“Jesus knew that He would die. But He was in perfect command of the situation. He knew that the death He was dying was the worst that the forces of evil could do to Him, and He knew that He would rise triumphant. He said that He would rise, and He made His words good. […]

Post Series

  • Westminster Shorter Catechism Series
  • Sermon on the Mount Series
February 2023
SMTWTFS
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728 
« Jan    

Categories

Archives

Blogger Grid
Follow me on Blogarama

Copyright © 2023 · Focus Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in