The faith of a Saint, a disciple of God is to live the faith each day. To live this faith means, to be and do what gospel principles teach. A true Saint of God does not compromise these principles because that would be compromising the faith and faith is the single key to open the door to salvation by which all other spiritual works are manifest. Without faith, everything else fails and salvation into the Kingdom of God is lost.
In every aspect of life, a Saint must be a true Saint as best can be, even with all his or her shortcomings. No one is perfect, but the atonement allows us to correct ourselves and take a higher and better direction. That is learning to be godly, which means to live and practice eternal principles of God in our moral and ethical standards of mortal life.
God knows we cannot be perfect in mortal life, at least not perfect in the eternal perfection sense, but in this life, we work toward it. This is the meaning of “working out our salvation”. This is why we must ensure that we think, choose and do the principles of God in our daily lives, be it privately, in a family and in our work place.
Compromising these principles, these values, both ethical and moral is not an option for a Saint. Unfortunately, I have seen too many good hearted Christians do just that, compromise faith sustaining and generating principles. They have succumbed to greed, selfishness, unethical and even immoral behavior. They end up lying, cheating, causing misdirection, undermining, manipulation of others and even compromise their work ethics, all for the benefits of the world. Did not Jesus say if we save ourselves, we loose? (Mark 8:35)
To live the faith is to never compromise the principles of God. We are to sustain integrity, honesty, forthrightness and virtue. This pertains to ethics. To place this into perspective, here is the dictionary meaning of the word “ethic”,
Ethic
1. The body of moral principles or values governing or distinctive of a particular culture or group: (the Christian ethic)
2. A complex of moral precepts held or rules of conduct followed by an individual: (a personal ethic.)- www.dictionary.com
God sets out his principles for a moral and ethical life. Simple things as honesty, sincerity, integrity, charity, faith and all good fruits of the spirit.
As a note, faith is one of the moral principles from God because to follow the principles of God is an act of faith. To act morally and ethically is also an act of faith because moral and ethics are of God. This makes faith a moral principle in which we follow and not something to compromise.
There are many things that will compromise a Saint who chooses to remain ethical and moral. One of these is complacency. Outwardly, it is not readily shown, but to compromise oneself does not come from outside of a Saint, it comes from within (Mark 7:18–23). All manner of evil, corruption, wickedness, darkness comes from within us, what we choose to hold in and express from our heart and mind. This is why so many who claim that they were told to do something unethical, was never a righteous justification. To accept immoral and unethical things is a manner of choice to follow it, have it, support it, all first within the heart and mind and then outwardly. Nothing can justify evil, because evil is evil.
What can complacency do that would corrupt us? Isn’t complacency just some manner of solemn compliance? No, this is what it does;
Complacent towards ethics, breeds corruption;
Complacent towards morals, breeds immorality;
Complacent towards responsibility, breeds irresponsibility;
Complacent towards decency, breeds indecency;
Complacent towards respect, breeds disrespect;
Complacent towards fairness, breeds unfairness and injustice;
Complacent towards right, breeds wrong;
Complacent towards properness, breeds improperness;
Complacent towards good, breeds bad;
Complacent towards faith, breeds unfaithfulness.
The list can go on, but this gives a clear idea of what complacency causes. Do you, as a Saint, wish to become complacent? In a place of work, the common attitude is to avert work, or avoid responsibility, to not do the best work possible and preys against the faith of God. If a Saint becomes complacent toward faith, where then will that Saint head in accordance to what I have described thus far? I am sure it is not hard to understand the danger a Saint has to his or her faith in God, from an unethical and immoral life!
Many will not accept our stance on faith, to abide in faith which means to be ethical and moral because so many have become complacent toward these very life giving principles. An ethical life style and practice is important for a Saint. Such are the teachings of God and his true Church,
Church Magazines asked:
Some would say you can’t live by a strict ethical code and do well in the business world.
Can a person with integrity truly succeed?Elder Hales replied:
Certainly, but you’d better be very good at what you do. Some of your associates will not understand your values and may resent you.
Others will respect you for it. But individuals who are not ethical, who are selfish and greedy and hungry for power,
will pay the price in the end.- Integrity and Values: A Discussion with Elder Robert D. Hales
Whether at home in private, with the family or at work, we are to do exactly what Elder Hales suggests, remain ethical at all times. If a fellow employee expects you to compromise integrity or to become more complacent toward it, that is Satan working through them to instill wickedness in you, trying to use work place peers to influence and impose control over your faith, to lead you to compromise the faith.
When you do good work, because that is what the faith requires of you at all times, wickedness and evil will take offence. Others may verbally attack you, degrade you, accuse you, set you up, lie about you, try to put you out or down or discourage you; but in the face of these spiritual adversities, stand in the faith and never compromise it. Will others watching know the difference between wickedness and goodness, when shown to them by your example? Not likely because they have not learned the faith of God. Unfortunately the world tends to call right as wrong and wrong as right to satisfy itself.
The world is generally selfish and prideful, it is the nature of mortality. The world has created facades of purity and virtue, yet they had no intention on living them. They are like ravening wolves in sheep clothing.
Oh, how heartless the world has become, where “honesty, integrity and transparency” is their volley cry, but the fruits of their labours are wicked. Is it any wonder why so many people call out “unfairness”? It is a hard world to live the faith and many in the world will not support you on it, this I know.
The world in general has no true understanding of ethical and moral work, yet claim they do. As Jesus Christ said, “Ye shall know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16–20); what they say is contrary to what they do. To be truly ethical is not only in thought, but intent and act from within.
Unfortunately, when people in positions of authority are faced with the work ethic of a Saint, they are likely to take offence. The one who they blame is the Saint. Their self-image becomes more important than self-responsibility I found, sadly true. Resolution for them is so simple, respect the Saint and correct their own errors. That would be the self-responsible thing to do, but self-responsibility is lacking in this world despite the fact that it is a truth. that is absolute. The world thinks that self-responsibility is an optional thing to ignore merited by circumstance and self-interests. Instead they seek to protect their image, to ensure their illusion, falsehood or false claims are not lost.
This occurred with Jesus Christ when the Jewish Pharisees persecuted him. Remember their murmuring among themselves because of the ‘work’ of Jesus (see Matthew 21:23–27 / Mark 11:27–33). They murmured when faced by a man who held virtue and ethics to the utmost. Simply stated, no one in the world likes a good man when that good man’s faith lights up the darkness around, showing them who and what they truly are. It is what true faith does and is the reason why a true Saint, a true disciple of God standing in the faith will find himself always having to do, face evil.
Others may want complacency from you because then you are safe to them, but for a Saint, that is not an option. While many places in society support and encourage complacency in many ways and will fight back when their sins are revealed by the mere presence of a Saint, fear not. Lack of integrity must never grab hold of your heart and mind. Stand in the faith. Usually this does not require any outward defence, your example is more than enough, but at times it may. To stand in the faith is to maintain Saintly characteristics and qualities irrespective of worldly attempts to pressure or oppress you to stop or “lighten up” (as one of their favourite phrases). If you stand in the faith, God will bring you through, as he said to Joseph Smith who sat suffering in Liberty Jail, “My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;”
For those who gave in and compromised their faith under false excuses as, “I would loose this or that” or “I had no choice” or “My employer does not like me doing work that way” etc, think again. Hold fast, pray and ask God for understanding and guidance. By personal revelation, God will reveal to you answers, how to understand and not compromise your faith and he will give thee ideas of what to do. He has done that with me many a time for many aspects of my life. For others who tried to wrong me in the process, well, suffice to say, goodness was not their blessing in their lives after it. This saddened me because I desired goodness all around, it benefits all, but goodness is not one of the things blessed to those who commit wicked acts against others, only justice which God gives when he deems it is time, and I promise you, God’s timing and effect is perfect and profound.
Stand in the faith and compromise not, chase complacency away from you. Follow the guidance from Heavenly Father as he knows what is best.
Amen
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