The Moral Life: Responsibility Without Excuses

When is stealing not really stealing? When you’re shoplifting from a store owned by a large, profit-hungry conglomerate that puts small grocers out of business, lays off workers and encourages greed and consumerism with their advertising.

That’s the spin on sin from the Rev. John Papworth of the Church of England. In a recent news story, he said, “I don’t regard (shoplifting) as stealing. I regard it as a badly needed reallocation of economic resources.”

Yeah, right. And murder is just selective population control.

It never fails to amaze me how many excuses, justifications and rationalizations people find for wrongdoing. You hear it from lawyers in courtrooms: “He was neglected by his parents. That is why he stopped this motorist, shot him and stole his car and money.”

You hear it from educators in classrooms: “The child has low self-esteem. That why I passed her on to the next grade despite the fact she doesn’t do homework, ditches school and hasn’t studied for a single test all year.”

And you hear it in churches: “What is sin? I’m OK. You’re OK. The Bible is just the best compilation of good fiction around.”

In addition to the three R’s of schooling, people today could use a few lessons on a fourth R: Responsibility. Responsibility for one’s actions and the consequences of those actions.

Papworth, 75, of North London probably has a good heart and the best of intentions. He certainly is no stranger to social activism. In the 1960s, he was jailed with philosopher Bertrand Russell for protesting nuclear weapons. He was also jailed in the United States for taking part in a march for civil rights for African-Americans.

He seems genuinely concerned about the social welfare of people and distressed about the external social and economic forces that make life difficult for them. But he really missed the point with his thieving theory.

Fortunately, Papworth’s views on stealing were denounced by Church of England officials. We would do as well to dismiss some of the weak and wimpy excuses we hear daily.

Hardship is no excuse for wrongdoing. I love reading histories and biographies because they are full of inspiring stories about how people overcame hardships to succeed in life. The hardships they suffered were unpleasant at the time, but they did much to mold their characters and enrich their lives.

The Bible teaches that hardship, be it economic or physical, can build character in people who persevere in doing the right thing.

It is people making excuses and getting over, above and around the system that can be some of society’s biggest troublemakers. They end up thinking society owes them something. They become ungrateful and unproductive. They start acting like spoiled children, never maturing, never developing the wisdom and inner strength that comes from beating or surviving the odds.

Excuses can reveal a lot about a person’s mind-set and attitude about life. They often reveal laziness, bitterness and a hardened heart.

This is illustrated by an episode in the Bible in which Jesus comes across an ill man lying beside a pool believed to have healing powers. When Jesus learned the man had been lying there for 38 years and had not yet entered the water, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

In other Gospel passages, it’s apparent the sick and disabled who came to Jesus were eager to be healed. But in this Luke 5 account, Jesus apparently sensed something different about this man and made it a point to ask first. The man responded with a bevy of excuses.

Jesus ignored the excuses and healed the man. But soon after, this same man ran into trouble with the religious authorities. Again, he responded by making excuses. The story ends with him ultimately blaming Jesus, the man who healed him, for his mistakes. Sadly, Jesus’ good deed did nothing to change this man’s fearful, blame-shifting attitude.

Legend has it that Robin Hood wanted to send a message to corrupt authorities by stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. But I bet the young people who witnessed his deeds received a different message: Stealing is cool, and thieves are heroes. Undoubtedly Robin’s deeds would be imitated by those with less noble and compassionate goals. And so the myth of justifiable misbehavior is perpetuated.