We Sure are Mixed Up

Every Sunday in the NYT Magazine I read a column called "The Ethicist." I like to read this column, as it is often very thoughtful and thought-provoking. Sometimes, though, I am convinced that we are just completely mixed up about what is important.

The reason I say this is because of some of the questions that come in. For example, one person recently wrote, wondering if it would be considered stealing to take the small shampoo or soaps from hotels at which one is a guest. Really? Does that person really wonder this?

On the other end of the spectrum we had another inquirer who was rather tortured by the fact that she had "sold" her eggs for money as a young college student. To her knowledge, some of these incidences resulted in the birth of a child. Many years later, she was getting married, and she was agonizing over whether or not to tell her fiance about this fact of her personal history.

I believe many of us have lost our compass. We worry about ridiculously insignificant things, and yet we cannot see the importance of major, serious issues staring us down!

For me, this is one of the huge benefits of being a part of a faith community. Learning together, talking about life's questions, studying the Bible, reading provocative and challenging literature, these things help provide a compass for most of us. All of us need a compass. That much is true. The question is, what will be our compass?