The Spiritual Side of Morality

Do unto others and you would have them do unto you. Forgive those who trespass against you. Love your enemy. Pray for those who persecute you.

What do these statements share in common? First, they have to do with moral behavior. Second, and most important, they have to do with the spiritual side of moral behavior, which is letting go of any negative state of mind that binds us.

I've been talking about the creative life force and its inward-out direction of flow. If we plot to do harm to another, if we harbor resentment, if we declare war on our enemy, if we wish the worst for those who have persecuted us, we are hanging onto things that hinder Spirit's natural flow in our life. It isn't enough to simply go through the motions of performing morally commendable acts. We must also activate the spiritual component of releasing the negative energy we have invested. In other words, we don't do it simply because it's the morally correct thing to do. We do it because it's the freeing thing to do.

We are not required to excuse the behavior of those who have in some way meant us harm. When Jesus said, “For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45), he was pointing out that God does not react to the good or bad behavior of people. Our negative reaction to others is a way of saying we are willing to withhold the sun and rain of our spiritual light, not from a given person, but from our own experience. Jesus is not saying forgive for the sake of others. He is saying forgive for the sake of you.

You recall the wealthy young man who asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus told him to obey the commandments. The man said he did all that. What’s missing? Doing the right thing is not enough. Jesus told him that he must sell everything. He must let go of the value he was placing on his possessions and invest instead in the freedom he was missing.

So it is with us. Doing the correct thing is not always the freeing thing. We should also take into consideration the spiritual side of morality which always involves some form of letting go.