Aspire to Decency 

   “Aspire to decency.  Practice civility toward one another.  Admire and emulate ethical behavior wherever you find it.  Apply a rigid standard of morality to your lives; and if, periodically, you fail, as you surely will, adjust your lives, not the standards.”  (Ted Koppel, Stanford University commencement speech, 1998) 

   I can’t help but believe that the quote above could go a long way to correcting many of the problems we face in the world and in the church.  It seems to me that no one at Stanford, or anywhere else, has put Mr. Koppel’s thoughts into action.

   Decency is such a rare commodity in today’s society that most would probably have difficulty defining it.  There are few who apply a morale standard to their lives, rigid or otherwise.  It’s difficult to admire and emulate ethical behavior when there is so little of it.  No one respects others, and whether they admit it or not, very few truly respect themselves.

   Jesus taught a life of decency, a life with the moral courage to do what is right and reject what is wrong.  He admonished and condemned sinful behavior yet forgave the sinner.  In decency we can find ourselves as we are intended to be.  In a decent society love for one another is paramount.  The kingdom of God is a kingdom of decency; let’s join that kingdom. 

Lord, where is decency today.

We are all concerned with only ourselves.

Sinfulness has become the norm.

Help us regain some decency in our lives. 

Amen