The Whys and Hows
Even the noble task of spreading the Gospel can be defiled with
delusion, impure motives, deception, desire to please men, flattering speech,
or greed!
The morality of
human acts depends on:
-
the object chosen;
-
the end in view or
the intention;
-
the circumstances
of the action.
The object, the intention, and the
circumstances make up the "sources," or constitutive elements, of the
morality of human acts. CCC§1750
Christian ethics
evaluates whether an action is good or evil based on the above three criteria
mentioned in The Catechism of the Catholic Church. Paul specifically addresses
the issue of intention (and partially, the circumstances) in these verses from
chapter two of his first letter to the Thessalonians. It is, after all,
possible to do the right thing for the wrong reasons. Paul says that even the
noble task of spreading the Gospel can be defiled with delusion, impure
motives, deception, desire to please men, flattering speech, or greed!
After reading
Paul's evaluation of his own pure and lofty motives for evangelizing, let us
subject ourselves to the same scrutiny: of the things we think, say, and do,
are our intentions and methods pure? If perhaps you and I find ourselves doing
the right thing for the wrong reason (or in the wrong way), NOW is the time to
be inspired by Paul's example....