Let’s have a thought experiment…
Imagine that you are a government
secret agent tasked on protecting the city from a terrorist attack. You were able to capture the terrorist. Unfortunately, he was able to hide, arm, and
start the timer on the bomb before he was caught. The nuclear bomb can explode at any second,
and there’s no time to evacuate the city.
The only way to save the city, particularly the millions of lives in it,
is to extract the information of the location of the bomb from the
terrorist. However, the terrorist is an extreme
fanatic; he has no fear of dying and won’t be broken by torture. On the
other hand, you got your hands on the terrorist’s family – who have no idea
what the husband/father/terrorist was into – and there is a good chance that he
will give you the location of the bomb if you torture his wife and children
instead. Will you do it? To save millions of lives, is torturing the
innocent wife and children the right thing to do?
The thought-provoker above is
called the “Ticking Time Bomb Scenario” – a thought experiment on the morality
of torture (this has been constantly explored in the TV series 24).
It’s a complex moral dilemma that we definitely don’t want to encounter.
In our actual lives, we probably don’t
have dilemmas that are as complicated as the “Ticking Time Bomb Scenario”, but we
are nonetheless put in situations where making the right choice is difficult,
for we don’t know what the right choice is.
Moral or ethical choices are not always about picking between the “black” and
the “white.” There are times that it is
hard to determine which is “black” or “white”, or if there’s actually a “black”
and a “white” at all.
Of course, as Christians, we need
to consciously pursue the right thing and what will glorify God the most. The guidance of the Holy Spirit and the
instructions of the Word of God help us in choosing. But there will be times that we fail to
discern the Holy Spirit’s guidance and can’t comprehend what the Word’s
instructions are. We are human
after all. We fall. We make fool of ourselves. We make mistakes. That is simply part of the Christian journey. Until we get to Heaven and have glorified
bodies, we still need to endure the difficulties of the battlefield of Christian life. Which includes the complexity of moral
struggles.
Fortunately, we Christians are
under God’s grace. Though we aren’t free
yet from undergoing these complex moral battles, we however have been given
freedom to engage in these battles without fear of the results. Our sins – past, present, and future – are
forgiven. Thus, we will no longer
receive condemnation if we ever made the wrong choice.
It doesn’t mean we should just
impulsively make choices without seeking God’s will. Or still make the wrong choice when we already
know it’s the wrong one. Again, we
should consciously pursue the right
thing and what will glorify God the most.
If we are convicted by the Spirit that a particular choice is a wrong
one or would dishonor God, why still proceed to choose it? The freedom of making moral choices, like all
other aspects of God’s grace, should never be abused, but treasured and
esteemed.
God understands our
limitations. We should just do our best
in carrying on the purpose of our existence: bringing glory to God. If we ever err in our choices and methods, let
it be out of ignorance or unintended blunder, and NOT deliberately. There might still be earthly consequence that
may arise from these mistakes we made, but God’s mercy is likely to shield us
from most of it, and, most importantly, there will be no eternal judgment that
will be passed on us.
I still don’t know what I will precisely do
if I get into complex moral dilemmas like the “Ticking Time Bomb Scenario.”
But by God’s grace, I know I can make a choice without fear.
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