Distinction Between Ethics and Ethic
Ethics refers to moral principles that help in governing the behavior of an individual and their ability to engage in different activities. On the other hand, Ethics refers to a set of moral principles that defines an individual or a group of people through the formation of their conduct. Ethic may be distinct to a particular group of people or in an individual, unlike ethics, which involves moral principles that generally accepted in society. The laws in ethics influences how an individual engages in decision making on matters concerning life. On the other hand, ethic defines the conduct of an individual, thus justifying why an individual participates in different aspects of life. Although Ethics and Ethic have a significant distinction based on their influence in human life, both characters capitalize on upholding good morals among individuals in society.
Why Might Jesus Have This Ethic?
In his life on earth, Jesus had an ethic, which defined his daily life and interactions with other people in society. Jesus was guided by a set of moral principles that related to how Christians should conduct themselves in their day to day activities. The ethic of Jesus focused on human interactions and value judgment on matters concerning life in society (Kvalbein, 1997). Considering that Jesus was a teacher who addressed issues concerning discipleship and living according to the holy word of God, he maintained ethic for people to understand his teachings and emulate his actions (Bonhoeffer, 2012). The set moral principles guiding Jesus were based on the teachings of Christianity, which are aspects that helped in defining a Christian based on their judgment and interactions within other people in the society. In his education, Jesus focused on the use of parables and other narrations, which helped in depicting the ethic of Jesus.
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The first primary reason why Jesus might have ethic is that He was the son of God, intending to teach people on ways to live according to the commandments of God. As a son of God, Jesus required a set of moral principles that would help to portray him differently for people to emulate him and his teachings. The second reason why Jesus might have Ethic is the fact that he was wise and could interact with different people even at a young age he would interact with the knowledgeable teachers and priests ate the synagogue (Peterson, 2010). Jesus portrays ethic at an early age, which was an indication that he was the son of God and that he had come to the earth to save people by showing them the truth and the way to the God. Lastly, the humility portrayed by Jesus despite being a son of God is an indicator of ethic in his life. In this case, Jesus chooses to be born in humble places and live among people in society by engaging in their daily lives, such as fishings.
Summary of the Ethic
Ethic involves moral principles that define the attitude, personality, and behavior of an individual or a group of people towards specific aspects of life. In his life of earth, Jesus portrayed different types of ethic, which were depicted in his life and in the teachings, he presented to people. The first type of ethic includes work ethic, which is an aspect that helps in defining the individual perceptions on matters concerning the involvement in work activities. In Christian teachings, work is a divine aspect that calls for individuals to respect their work in a bid to earn blessings from God (Stassen & Gushee, 2003). In an example summarizing the work ethic from a Christian perspective, an individual that does not engage in working activities should not eat. The example is an indicator that Christians should maintain work ethic and consider work as part of their daily activities, which is an aspect that helps in overcoming laziness and provide the ability to earn daily bread.
The second central ethic depicted in the life of Jesus entails the ethic of reciprocity, which is a concept that is termed as a golden rule. Reciprocity ethic focuses on treating other people in a manner that one would wish to be treated. In the ethic of Jesus, what you want to upon others is the same thing you want to upon yourself. In the teachings of Jesus, he narrated how people should live with one another and maintain the ethic of reciprocity in their day to day activities. For example, in the Beatitudes, Jesus taught that "blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy." The teaching is an indication that whatever an individual does to others, it will be done to them too. Considering that Jesus had the ethic, he maintained showing kindness and love to all people in the society despite their position in society (Sabol, 2011). In his teachings, he considered that everyone was equal in the sight of God.
In his teachings, Jesus focused on the use of parables to ensure that people would understand what he talked about, considering that they would relate closely to the parables. Various parables helped in summarizing the ethic of Jesus by depicting the issue of ethics in the life of a Christian. The first parable focusing on the ethical consideration involves the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. The parable involves three main components, which include, the life of the rich man, the experience of Lazarus, and the ethic of Jesus concerning the lives of the mentioned people. The parable depicted life on earth and life after death and the essential aspects that a Christian should consider when interacting with other people in society and create positive relations.
In the parable, the rich man was an arrogant man who did not have any ethical considerations for the poor people in society. Lazarus was a humble and poor man who did not have earthly possessions, thus focused on matters concerning life after death. Based on the ethic of Jesus, the ownership of the material property is vanity considering that life after death has more meaning. Jesus, in this case, focused on teaching about humility and the golden rule of reciprocity, which are factors that are defined within the set of moral principles that should guide an individual in their day to day interactions with other people in the society. Jesus used the parable to show the importance of living an ethical life on earth, considering that God does not focus on physical possessions but rather on an individual’s heart.
The practical application of the ethic of Jesus is depicted in the day to day life of people living in faith. The Christians focus on emulating the life of Jesus and his ethic by living a Christ-like life that upholds all the teachings of Jesus. To follow the life of Christ, Christians use the bible as a guide that helps them to continually remember the ways of Jesus based on the teachings and parables. The first significant application that can be identified in the lives of Christian living in faith is humility, which is an aspect that helps individuals to remain humble despite their position in the society or their worldly possession. According to the ethics of Jesus, humility is a moral principle that guides people towards overcoming pride that is associated with an individual’s position or achievements in their lives.
Another practical application of ethics in the Christian life involves loving all people in society and doing good to people in a bid to get good deeds in return. According to the presence of Jesus, he focused on interacting with all people in the society despite the mockery that he faced from people who did not believe that he was the true son of God sent to save humankind. Considering that Jesus was led by ethic, he prayed and forgave people who mocked him and even those that killed him. In that case, it is essential for Christian to capitalize on the virtue of forgiveness as depicted by Jesus in a bid to live in peace with all people in the society (Gregory, 2019). Additionally, Jesus did not focus on self-righteousness as he interacted with the sinners for them to learn through his teachings and turn away from their wicked ways.
References
Bonhoeffer, D. (2012). The cost of discipleship . Simon and Schuster.
Gregory, E. (2019). Putting Religion Back into Religious Ethics. Journal of Religious Ethics, 47 (1), 166-179.
Kvalbein, H. (1997). The kingdom of God in the ethics of Jesus. Studia Theologica , 51 (1), 60-84.
Peterson, D. (2010). Jesus and Social Ethics. Retrieved from http://davidgpeterson.com/other-topics/jesus-and-social-ethics/
Sabol, J. S. (2011). Jesus and the Ethic of Love: A Critical Examination of a New Covenant. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1149&context=etd
Stassen, G. H., & Gushee, D. P. (2003). Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in a contemporary context . InterVarsity Press.
