Psalm 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

Isaiah 48:17 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go.

Psalm 143:8 Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.

Which of these passages best reflects a moral compass?

Would it surprise you to hear the word moral is not used in the KJV nor the ESV? Looking in the BlueLetterBible Nave’s Topical usages says to look up Contingencies.

Contingencies is defined as a future event or circumstance which is possible but cannot be predicted with certainty. In considering this it would appear that morality is a human construct.

Judges 17:6 In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

This word appears to support the idea of morality being a social construct.

Getting back to my original question, it is my opinion that Isaiah 48:17 best describes a moral compass for one and only one reason. Man tends to define what is profitable in the absence of a clearly defined goal.

Psalm 32:8 is the way of faith, following instructions without a goal in mind.

Psalm 143:8 seeks love, communion and inclusion in God’s plan, trust is essential.

Society teaches us what others will tolerate. Some places are very intolerant and others are too permissive. That is a comparison, not a direction.

Even when using a moral compass of our own design, we have to decide where we stand and where we want to go. The needle may point at magnetic north but our destination may be towards what is right, but to know that, we need to know where we stand. Also we should have a goal in mind.

If our goal is eternal salvation and nothing else matters, then faith alone is required. We believe that placing our faith in the work of the cross is sufficient to that goal. Others do not.

If our goal is to be a child of God then the Father determines what is expected of the child.

This is your moral compass, you are free to choose how to use it. Or not!

1 Corinthians 14:37-38 King James Version

37 If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. 38 But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.

Yesterday’s post came via the KJV. Normally I convert what I hear to the ESV for easier reading.

My first and preferred reading of the bible was in the KJV so it is natural for me to remember His Word in the KJV.

1 Corinthians 14:37-38 English Standard Version

37 If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord. 38 If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized.

That is quite different isn’t it?

Key in understanding is what that person thinks of themself. If they have been deceived by Satan into thinking that they are something they are not, then they are not recognized by God. We will only recognize them for what they are if we know the truth and hold firmly to the truth.

1 John 1:8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

The truth will help us so that we will not deceive ourselves or others.

I am a sinner saved by grace and nothing that I think about myself will ever change that.