A friend of mine made a seemingly innocent comment the other day that struck me. We were discussing a computer game that he had recently picked up. As he started to tell me about it, he uttered the following sentence: "I didn't want to pay for it, so I downloaded it." And the conversation continued. He said it as matter-of-factly as one would say, "I was hungry, so I got something to eat." The statement gave me pause, but I didn't comment on it at that point. However, it has gotten a train of thought moving.
I'm not sure where this comes from; whether it's a degredation of morals, some form of social phenonema, or what... But somehow, our culture has come to a place where the rules simply don't matter. We don't like the rule; therefore, we choose not to abide by it.
Somehow, we think that's okay.
As I sit here and type, I can think of family and friends who have simply made decisions along these lines; they did not like the way something affected their life, so they chose to violate it without a second thought. People pulling out a Sharpie and doing a line-item veto on the Honor Code at ORU, as if they actually could. Others ripping music and and movies, more than they could ever watch or listen to. Even people at a seminary doing these things, breaking Ethos Statement and justifying it a thousand different ways; it makes one think.
A guy came into my work the other day, ordered some drink with two espresso shots, and then leaned over the counter to inform me (with a conspiritorial wink) that I wasn't going to charge him for the second shot. I chuckled and proceeded to charge him the full price for his beverage. When he belligerently informed me that I had charged him for two shots instead of one, I agreed that I had; it's a company policy, and I choose to abide by it. He proceeded to rant and create a scene; but when other baristas refused to change the price, he realized he was making a fool of himself and left.
Since when is the price of a three dollar drink negotiable? Does one go to Burger King, order a combo, and complain about not getting the fries for free? Of course not. Were I selling him a car, I would expect some negotiation; I'd even try to get him a good deal. However, this is a latte, not an Infiniti. The wiggle room simply doesn't exist.
How did we think we had so much wiggle room to begin with? "I didn't want to pay for it..." So I didn't. With the culture we live in, it's possible to break all kinds of rules and never get caught. But that raises the question: does that make it right? Here we must be careful. If we truly can get away with anything (and we can, if we are willing to try) then we can go from getting away with movie piracy to getting away with murder. Quite literally. The same line of logic would apply. Rules are in place; I can break the rules and not get caught; therefore, when the threat of consequence is removed and it serves my interest to violate the rule, it becomes permissible for me to do so.
What the hell.
I'm not talking about Ethos; I'm not talking about RIAA or anything like that. It is easy justify whatever you do.
I'm talking about integrity. Someone once said that integrity is who you are when the lights are off and no one's looking. Does a person of integrity do these things? Does a steward of God's Kingdom place their own interests before the established order? Granted, there may be times when being a steward means defying the order; however, I would call this an extreme exception that is not to be confused with the norm. Especially not in matters of music, video games, drinking, tax evasion, and the like.
Our decisions affect people. I bought a Brave Saint Saturn album recently and Reese Roper said this on the inside of the back cover: "Thanks to you for buying this album instead of downloading it so that I can eat food." Many times they don't, though. And when they don't, are we the same kind of person that we strive to be when they do?
Father, please help us to be a people of integrity; a people who shine in the dark places, even when we think that no one is there to see the light. Please help us to be a people who are above reproach in our lives, so that we do not taint your name in any way. Thanks, Father.
Amen.
