More Thoughts About Morality

Assigning moral value to an action is a mistake which can cause more harm than the action itself. When we assign either a positive or negative moral value to an action, we then imply that that action should be either rewarded or punished, and then either imply or directly state that it is a moral imperative that such reward or punishment be carried out.
     An action may be harmful, but frequently it is equally as harmful in some way to the person committing the action as it is to the person who is directly or indirectly harmed by the action committed. In the same way, an action may be beneficial, but it is frequently equally as beneficial in some way to the person committing it as it is to the recipient. Thus, the consequences of that action are already either punishing or rewarding on their own without further punishment or reward.
     By assigning moral value to actions, we then assign moral value to the person committing those actions. A person seen to be doing "good" actions will themselves be considered "good". Likewise a person seen to be doing "bad" actions will themselves be considered "bad". But the reality is never that cut and dried. One day, a person might stop someone on the street from being mugged. The next, they might make a statement which you morally disagree with strongly, or perhaps are indicted for white collar crime. Are they "good" or are they "bad"? A person might commit a theft of thousands of dollars, but then turn around and give it to those who have nothing. A man might commit a murder in cold blood to prevent the deaths of many, many more. The more you drop down the morality rabbit hole, the murkier such concepts become.
     The reality is that "moral value" as such is a product of the human mind and imagination. No action has a moral value intrinsic to itself, but only that which the individual human mind assigns it based on accepted notions of cultural duty, obligation, and religion, and most importantly what that individual has decided for himself is "good" or "bad".
      Each human being does the best they can with what they've got, what they know to be true, and how they've faired in life. There isn't a human being on this planet that would intentionally do a thing which they believed was completely unjustified. This does not make the thing done beneficial to anyone, only that on some level, their sense of morality justified it. It is for this reason that some of the greatest harm done throughout history was in the name of justice, good, and right.
     It is also for this reason that Jesus taught us not to condemn others. Paul also wrote that we who condemn others condemn ourselves, because we practice the same things. We all suffer from the same malaise of mind with regards to this, and thus Jesus taught mercy and compassion for all. It is also for this reason that God says through Ezekiel that it is not the past good or past evil which He looks at, but what the person is doing right now. Past good will not be remembered if the man begins acting selfishly and causing harm, and past evil will not be remembered if the person turns away from it and acts in the way He said to.
     The person who commits harmful actions is likely hurting badly from them. Sometimes threat of punishment can scare them off from trying to come home, come clean, and turn around. The Love, the core nature of God, which Scripture taught doesn't keep count of wrongs committed, and doesn't seek retribution for offenses. It only seeks restoration and a change of mind and heart for the person who is lost.