How do we avoid moral injury? I read this term last week and it makes sense to me. There are times that the world seems so wrong (all of the time) and I’m not sure how to make a difference. God is all-powerful and I have a little power. I feel defeat when I end the day that seems too idle for the emergencies abounding. The counter to this feeling is joy. Moral injury is described as the ‘psychological, social and spiritual impact of events involving betrayal or transgression of one’s own deeply held moral beliefs and values occurring in high stakes situations’. It is not a mental health disorder. It is situational and you can’t seek professional help! Simply put, moral injury is the damage done to one’s conscience or moral compass. The world is offending me lately but not people. Like sheep we have all gone astray. We do the things we don’t want to do and fail to do the better things. Issues abound that make the “going to hell in a hand-basket” images appear more frequently. I hate abortion and can’t save the babies. People finagle tax dollars that I have worked hard for when they don’t qualify. Children go unprotected. Israel was caught unawares. Husbands are not promise keepers. Cancer. How could I have prepared for all of the above and more. Should I have gone into politics after getting a law degree to form anti-abortion legislation? Should I have also gone into accounting and counseled people in finance? How can I save children except to be the best parent and teacher I could be since I did both. How could I have had intel and cancelled the music festival where Hamas attacked/harmed the helpless? People are unreliable on their own. Cancer? I studied biochem at UCLA with Dr Gary Gilliland who, in around 1975, determined to cure cancer and has done more than anyone I have ever known. So what am I equipped to do today? Trust God and each day I will try my best. Today I exercised, studied, prayed, grocery shopped, called friends, sent a get-well card, had a missions-related meeting, ate, and watched too much Korean tv. Not an epic fail but not transforming. I had fun. I woke up and this day was a precious gift. The people I met should see light and salt. I should trust that God is with me and guiding me. If I try to carry the ‘world’ I am failing because it is not my responsibility. I’m a little person who worries too much and wants to do some great things. Yes, my moral compass can afford to take some hits. It is worth it.
