Many people think of morality as something that interferes or stops one from having a good time, and in some cases that may be true, but in the case of Christianity it is because the alternate choice is exceedingly better. Lewis defines morality as, 'a set of rules that are there to prevent a breakdown, strain, or friction'. Lewis breaks the concept of morality down into three parts: relations between person and person, fixing the inside of an individual person, and the relationship between a person and the power that made him.
The human soul can be thought of as a machine. The moral rules set by the Lord interfere with our natural desires because they are meant to do exactly that. When I learned how to drive a car, my mom kept saying to turn the wheel differently, accelerate with more ease, and turn corners more slowly. At first, learning to operate the machine was just a tons of rules that screamed to not do this or not do that. However, whenever I listened to my mom, the instructor, and chose to follow her guidelines rather than follow my own natural tendencies, I learned how to operate the car the proper way and avoid collisions-with other cars, with myself, and with my mom. Learning to operate the machine of man is the same way. We must follow the rules of the instructor-the Lord-to learn how to live the right way. When we follow His guidelines, we see that they work for our good. We are able to live in harmony with other cars-or people-with ourselves, and with the instructor Himself. What about perfection? If humanity is flawed, why bother? Isn't perfection impossible to achieve? No person is a perfect driver, but does that mean he or she shouldn't try to drive well? If we have an instructor who has provided the proper guidelines for driving (living), then our motivation should be to attempt to follow the guidelines out of love. God as the instructor doesn't have to tell us how to drive the car. He chose to reveal the rules because of His love. He wants us to succeed. He wants us to learn to live in love, so let us respond out of love. One of my favorite songs is 'Jesus Take the Wheel', by Carrie Underwood, and whenever I listen to it I am reminded how much I need Jesus. I cannot live this life on my own. I need someone else to drive this crazy thing called life for me. I need guidance. I need love. I need comfort. I need God.
Most people can agree that humans should be honest and kind to each other. Just follow the golden rule, right? Lewis says that we should not stop there, for how is a society to be a good one at all if the individuals themselves aren't cleaned up? Overall change beings with small alterations. Change must start in an individual in order to add up and create a whole change. How does this happen? One of my favorite quotes from Lewis is, 'What is the good of drawing up, on paper, rules for social behavior, if we know that, in fact, our greed, cowardice, ill temper, and self-conceit are going to prevent us from keeping them?' Humanity must see that nothing but courage and unselfishness of individuals will ever make an overall difference in society. Bad men do not create a good society. A wholesome society must consist of wholesome people. So, morality inside an individual does matter, though many disagree on what this means exactly. This is where we must take religion into account, because religion says there is a set of moral rules and makes statements that are either true or false. The claims Christianity makes are either true or false. Christianity says humans are eternal creatures, and if this is false then why bother with morality at all? If someone is thought to only be in existence for a short time, then why care how he or she treats others? We should care. We should want to improve ourselves and learn to love others. Love is a choice. We must choose to live in love. Man cannot do this alone. Anyone can see that every man is flawed. Every single person messes up, no matter how good a person he or she may be. This is why we need the Lord. We need an instructor to teach us the ropes, and we should not be surprised or angry when His lessons and rules go against our natural desires. The Lord's ways are good and perfect, while the heart of a man alone is selfish, broken, and flawed. We must realize that the Lord has given us moral rules because He wants us to strive for goodness. That is what it means to strive for the Lord. It means intentionally choosing to live in love in regards to others, ourselves, and the Creator of the rules. We are given a choice of following the way of man or the way of God; the way of brokenness or the way of healing, the way of Hell or the way of Heaven, the way of selfishness or the way of selflessness, the way of fear or the way of courage, the way of chaos or the way of peace, the way of despair or the way of hope. We must remember that virtue is of vital importance. Goodness exists for a reason. Let us choose it.
