*Aristotle (b. 384 BC)

5 This is the message we heard from Jesus [Greek, him] and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. 7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.

*I John 1.5-7 (NLT)

Greek legend tells of a treacherous place in the ocean where no captain had ever sailed a vessel without wrecking. Sirens - female, half-human temptresses - lived among the rocks. And when a ship approached, they began playing an enticing, fatal strain of music.

No sailor could resist the song. And each ship would crash on the rocks.

Captain Ulysses resolved that his ship would not crash. He ordered his crew, "Tie me to the mast, and stuff your ears with wax." As they neared the rocks, the enticing notes began entering the captain's ears. He strained to escape. But his desire to follow the music could not be deterred; however, his ship sailed safely by, seeing he was tied to the mast.

Captain Orpheus had a better plan. He accepted his men and he could not resist the Sirens' music. He, therefore, took a harp with him. He had been practicing for this very time. When he played, music more beautiful than any his crew had heard poured forth. Their eyes were fixed on the captain. Not one heard the Siren's song. They all passed safely.

When facing trials and temptations, we can do two things. First, we can tie ourselves to the mast, or we can play a more beautiful song.

When we muster all our resources not to yield to temptation, we expend much effort. We can become exhausted with the toil. We can find ourselves giving up, feeling unable to continue resisting. Even if we do resist, we likely discover the drive to yield is rampant in us. We resisted giving in outwardly, but we were still captive to it inwardly. This is like the person who resists outwardly retaliating against someone, but inwardly he seethes with rage, resentment, and malice against his supposed enemy. No, he will not outwardly harm the person, but he hopes ill upon the person. He, though passive, is captive to hate.

Then, we can play more beautiful music. This pertains to a Scripture we used recently. Romans 12.21 (WE) has: "Do not let wrong things win a victory over you. But win a victory over wrong things by the good things you do." The "things," whether "right" or "wrong," apply to our thoughts as well as our actions.

Yet, let us focus on the idea of "beautiful." Captain Orpheus played a beautiful, captivating music on the harp.

What is beautiful? Virtue is beautiful. Yet, the word and idea of virtue is considered old-fashioned among many in our society. We see virtue as constricting: as ugly. Virtue is seen as an infringement on personal rights. If you say to someone, "That's not right," you might hear something like this, "That's none of your business; it's between me and God."

No, virtue is a collective set of principles universally true for all times, all peoples, all places. Virtue is not a private option, virtue is a public demand on our lives to do what is right always. Take the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes: there is no implied superscription, "These are options, choose as fits your convictions or life circumstances."

A person was told by another person God had told her to so something that hurt the first person deeply. Months later, the injured party related this to a Christian counselor. He could not square the supposed claim of "God told me" to Scripture. The counselor's immediate response: "God did not tell her to do that. God does not tell persons to do things like that." See, the Christian counselor was saying, "God never leads a person to act apart from virtue." For me to say God told me to do an unvirtuous thing is to say, "God told me to contradict God's universal principles of right and wrong." That borders on blasphemy - and possibly is blasphemy. We should never use God's name in affirming God is leading us to do something that contradicts the principles in the Christian Scripture and universal right - which are seen in many of the other religions of the world. That is using God's name in vain.

The ancients, as did Aristotle, saw virtue as very desirable; indeed, beautiful. So, what is virtue? "Virtue" is related to "virile." The link appears in "virtue" as "a beneficial quality or power of a thing," "manly strength or courage," and "a capacity to act." Virtue includes associations of potency and valor.

Virtue is not a soft religious or moral idea. Virtue indicates power and courage. The virtuous man or woman is strong and able to face and overcome challenges against doing the right thing. Virtue includes capacity to transcend and remain true to the end. Virtue says "Yes" to justice, when other persons say, "I give up; it's no use."

As a pastor, I have seen the lack of virtue among many church members. Rather than showing valor and strength, when things do not do their way, they pout and cause trouble or leave and run to find a church that fits their wishes. That is not virtue, that is the ugly, cowardly, impotent face of selfism.

Returning to our parable, Captain Orpheus' music was more powerful, more virtuous, than that of the Sirens. The allurement of the Sirens was offset by the allurement of Orpheus' potent melody.

To resist temptation by choosing virtue, is not the path of weaklings and cowards. To live a virtuous life, especially in a society where virtue is considered old-fashioned, a society that has lost the capacity for the potency of courageous goodness, one will need to be even more determined to align with Good against evil.

Now, it would be easier if virtue came easily to all of us. However, as the opening quote from Aristotle clarifies, to commit a virtuous act is not difficult. The call is to act virtuously so often that to act such becomes natural, for you become a virtuous man or woman.

1) Reflect on the qualities of virtue that would make it attractive to persons, if they would see its true nature?

2) Why do you think many persons consider realities like "virtue" old-fashioned?

3) Did the above writing challenging any of your presuppositions about the meaning of virtue? Name one or more of the assumptions.

4) Do you think we Christians have become too compromising morally? Explain your response.

5) Do you believe many Christians present morality before the public in such a way that distracts them from virtuous living? Explain your response.

6) What are appealing adjectives that might be included in presenting the call to virtue among young people?

7) Examine your life. Do you take virtuous living too lightly? Examine areas you might be yielding to the allurement of things that are not Christlike - maybe even using the excuse, "Well, it's not really that bad." If so, spend some time in prayer about that matter, and pray for the courage to choose virtue over vice, and inwardly and outwardly.

*This writing ministry is the offering of Rev. Dr. Brian K. Wilcox, of SW Florida, a Pastor in the United Methodist Church, and Senior Chaplain for the Charlotte County Jail, Punta Gorda, FL. To contact Brian, write to barukhattah@embarqmail.com .