By ethics, I mean principles by which you might seek to live your life by. Examples would be telling the truth, not stealing, always showing kindness to others. Equally I would consider only telling white lies, or stealing from the government, or being able to hurt another if they did not share your values to be ethical principles - perhaps of a differing standard.
By cooking, I mean the activity of preparing food for the purpose of eating it - but frame the word ‘activity’ widely. Hence personally purchasing ingredients and making a pizza from them is ‘cooking’ just as much as purchasing a pre-prepared frozen pizza is, or ordering a take-away pizza is. Again, it just involves a different standard.
So, ethics are like cooking. To some extent they are common to all - one person might choose to tell the truth as much as another might permit lying in certain situations. One person might eat their steak medium-rare, the other well done. I’m sure another wiser person has more to say on the general characteristics of ethics.
What I do want to think out loud is whether or not ethics are generally perceived as good. More particularly, the ethics set out in the Sermon on the Mount (I know, you’re thinking ‘can - worms - all over the floor’). Seriously though, consider the exhortation - ‘be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect’. Does that strike you as good news - something encouraging? I think it should, but I know that most people would consider advice to tell the truth at all times rather naive or quaintly old-fashioned, if not unhelpful. I’m gutted that the subject of ethics has been allowed to accumulate negative associations in people’s minds over the years.
Ethics - they’re like cooking. Jesus lived a three Michelin-starred life. He knew how to wrest the freshest flavours from life’s gristle. He knew what a pinch of ‘this’ or sprinkle of 'that' would do in any given situation. He had impeccable taste. He truly knew the good things in life.
So, while I pick moodily at my microwave-meal habits, should I be surprised if they don’t satisfy me? What is it that keeps me coming back to a fast-food burger pastime, when I could be eating finer meat and drink prepared with care at home?
