SEEK ALIGNMENT

Friday: November 20, 2020

Luke 19:46 Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves.

There are four pillars in medical ethics:

• Beneficence: the duty to do good,
• Non-maleficence: the duty to do no harm
• Justice: equal and equitable treatment for all and
• Autonomy- respect for patients right to their own decision when determined that they are able to do so

The latter will be the centre of today’s  reflection.

While a medical team can suggest a treatment option or plan, the final decision rests with the patient- ‘they have the will to make their own decision’ and that is what we notice in the Gospel today. The will of God for the temple was for it to be a house of prayer, but by choice, it had been TURNED into a market or as Jesus put it; a den of robbers. The will of man had prevailed.

There is always a conflict of these two wills, that of God and that of man, particularly if a man is not surrendered to the authority of God. Such a person regardless of their choices, has not submitted themselves for correction or rebuke and God can only watch on. Even in Eden, when man decided to eat of the fruit, while God’s will then was for them not to, the will of man prevailed again.

Beloved, what God wants for us and what we want are not always in alignment because as we journey through life, we develop our own taste buds and preferences.

It therefore becomes relatively easy to allow our will and our voice to override the voice of God and His will. Just like the ethical principle of autonomy, God has to respect our choices, and He does.

But the outcome and consequences associated with those choices which fall outside His will concerning us, are always a reminder of how far we have pulled apart from Him. So sweetheart, seek alignment between His will and your will.

#sly