Circumstances

One

Did you ever see the Superman movie, Man of Steel? I hope not, it’s a pretty lousy movie. But probably the worst part of the movie is the way Superman’s adoptive father dies. 

The whole family is in the car in Kansas, because, of course, Superman is from Kansas, like all true superheroes. The whole family is in the car, in traffic, and suddenly a tornado (because, remember, they’re in Kansas) comes and threatens everybody. Superman’s whole family gets out of the car, they make it to safety, and then suddenly they realize that they left the dog in the car. So the dad, not Superman but the regular human dad, runs back into the tornado to save the dog.  And he saves the dog but dies in the process.

Now the movie makes it seem like that was some kind of heroic move but it wasn’t. It was sinful. It risked human life, the life of an image of God, a child of God, and the father of a family. It was a decision to risk all that for the sake of a beast.  

So what he was trying to do was okay, and his basic motives were okay but it was a bad circumstance. Which shows that, in moral decision-making, it’s not enough to just examine what we’re doing, or even why we’re doing it. We have to look at the other factors of the situation. And the technical term for that is the circumstances. 

Two

Circumstances 

When we analyze a decision from a moral point of view, we have to look at three things: What we’re trying to do (which is called the object), why we’re trying to do it (what’s motivating us, which is called the end in view or intention), and any other morally relevant factors at play in a given situation. That’s called the circumstances. 

So, for example, in the case of the dad who loses his life trying to save the dog from a tornado: What he was trying to do was get the dog away from the tornado. That’s a fine object. And why he was trying to do it was to keep the dog alive. That’s a fine end. But in that situation where he was risking his own life by going into the path of the tornado, the circumstances were unsuitable.  So it wasn’t a morally right decision. 

And even though most of us won’t be in a situation where we have to decide whether to rescue a pet from a tornado, we will all be in situations where we have to consider the circumstances to avoid making a sinfully imprudent decision. 

Three

Why Circumstances Matter  

When we do something wicked in itself, we know what we’re doing is wrong because the very act itself is designed to attack some human good. And when we do something from bad motives, we know what we’re doing is wrong because something inside us is twisted, trying to put good things to evil uses. But it’s not enough just to look at our act and our motives, because our decisions happen in the concrete, complicated world. And we want those actions to make the world a better place – not a worse place. 

So we have to examine not just the character of our actions or the character of ourselves, but the situation we find ourselves in, and we have to ask, “Is this likely to do more harm than good? Am I risking or neglecting a greater good for the sake of a lesser one? Am I pursuing a good that it’s not my job to pursue, and failing to fulfill the responsibilities God has given me?” 

If so, then we have to abandon that course of action. Because there’s something we need to focus on more, some way we have been called to make the world a better place. 

Four

Examples of good actions and good motives but bad decisions

There are plenty of times we might want to do something good from the best motives, but it’s not our place to do it, the situation isn’t right. It might be a great good that’s not our place to pursue.

If we are parents of children still at home, we can’t spend all our time volunteering at the Church, or serving the poor, like Mother Teresa. Good things, good motives – bad circumstances. 

Maybe we’re trying to do something nice for somebody, but we haven’t thought carefully about whether what we’re doing is really going to be helpful for that person. That’s why you shouldn’t give your six-year-old a smartphone. Because it’ll probably do them more harm than good. Technology is a good thing, and you might be motivated by generosity but in that situation, in those circumstances, what you’re doing is really bad. 

Maybe you’re voting for a political candidate who you think will reform immigration law or help with poverty even though that candidate is also radically committed to facilitating the murder of the unborn and the perversion of marriage and human sexuality. Obviously, the attack on life and on the very nature of the family is going to do a lot more damage than imperfect immigration and economic structures. So even if voting for a given candidate isn’t intrinsically wrong, and you may have good motives in doing so, as long as that candidate is the candidate who is more committed to attacking those fundamental forms of human goodness, the circumstances are not right to vote for them.  

Again, it’s not enough that what you’re doing isn’t evil in itself or that you don’t detect any evil motivations in your own heart. You actually have to think it through and try to make sure your decisions aren’t making the world worse overall instead of better.  

Five

Circumstances and Prayer 

Human beings are fundamentally good. We generally want to do good things, and we want to do them (generally) for good reasons. 

But we get lazy. We don’t think it through. And we pursue the right good at the wrong time, even with good motives, because we don’t consider the circumstances. 

Nowhere is this temptation more common than in the temptation to neglect prayer.  

Why do we neglect prayer? Is it because we’re doing evil things? With wicked motives? No. It’s because we get so focused on so many good things, with so many good motives, and we forget the “one thing needful.” 

So when you start to examine your actions, and you consider the circumstances, remember this – any good thing that makes you neglect daily prayer is probably a sinful temptation. What you’re doing may be good. You might be doing it with good motives. But if it’s causing you to neglect prayer, then the circumstances are wrong. You should let that good go, and spend a little time with the Lord.