Embedded Ethics

                It is getting to that time in the term where life tilts toward the side of time constraints, homework, papers, and stress.  With just a few weeks left until winter break I find myself sitting in the driver seat of a vehicle I am not familiar with and on a path I have not yet been down.(there is an intended Frost reference here)  I am finally feeling like I understand what is expected of me as a student and a husband and a father all at once and, while it seems daunting, I am feeling eager to continue my pursuit of my dreams.  I only regret that it has taken me this long to get into the driver seat. 
So there is my check in in terms of where I am and how I got here, in terms of a blog, well, this week we got into ethics and theological ethics. 

                While we have talked a lot in this class about embedded theology, that being your theology that you bring to the table with you, I feel like there is an unapproached topic of embedded ethics that we missed during this conversation.  I strongly believe that how one is raised and brought up determines, or is at least a strong proponent of what their ethical outlook is today. 

                Growing up in the Metro Detroit area I had a childhood that most people who are not from Michigan would not expect.  I never felt much of the struggle that gets associated with the city and truly enjoyed my life.  My father worked his tail off for General Motors and while we were not living an abundantly prosperous life, we managed to get by.  However, I had many experiences with friends and other family members who grew up quite different. 

                I say this because in class we talked about how we would respond in hypothetical situations and one of them has been a situation I found myself in a handful of times.  The scenario sets up like this: You are shopping with a friend and you see them put something from the shelf into their pocket/purse.  How do you handle this?  Do you say something to that person?  Do you report them?  Now I have never stolen anything in my entire life, that’s not how I was raised, but I can think of at least two or three times where I was with someone who was stealing, and while I know I could have been in trouble too I did not report that person or cause a scene.  You see, I believe that my entire life has been a grooming of sorts to create in me, the best minister I can be.  While ethically, most ministers would do the “right thing” in this situation, for me it was and is always more important to cultivate and foster relationships.  That might sound a little weird at first but the way I see it is that I can do more good to that person by connecting and finding out the purpose behind the stealing, than by turning them in to the authorities.  For me, ministry is about a deep connection with people.  It goes beyond the walls of a church and it is a lot more than a certificate hanging on my office wall.  It is how I treat people, how I relate to them and how well I can communicate from my divine nature so that they might see their own divine nature.  Ministry, as a profession is about waking people up to the presence of God within them. 

                So however ethics comes into play now and/or in my future, I will forever be grateful for my upbringing and the lessons I have learned along the way.  Even now I believe I am being groomed every day and in every situation to become a better minister and I pray that never ends.