You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth.
28 Let[klepto] him that stole[klepto] steal[klepto] no more:[meketi] but[de] rather[mallon] let him labour,[kopiao]
working[ergazomai] with his hands[cheir] the thing which is good,[agathos] that[hina] he may have[echo] to give[metadidomi] to him
that needeth[chreia].[echo] KJV-Interlinear
28 Let him
who steals steal no longer; but rather let him labor, performing with his own
hands what is good, in order that he may have something to share with him who
has need. NASB
Morals are the living standards that guide society. Morals are the sum total of ones conduct, principles, scruples, rules and accepted beliefs that a person lives by.
The opposite of morals is immorality, such as in truth or lie, privacy or gossip, respect or disrespect, legal or illegal, honor or dishonor, promotion without achievement, love without honor, love without virtue, success without integrity, approbation without achievement, and so forth. In every case trying to get something without earning it.
But morals also reach into the standards by which people live, such as marriage between a man and woman which is morally correct. Marriage between two men, or between two women, or between man and animal, are all immoral practices. Being dressed in public is a moral standard. Running around naked is not. Stealing is immoral, lascivious activities are typically immoral, drunkenness is an immoral act, but then so also is being self-righteous which is a violation of the biblical standard of humility. And this list can go on and on seemingly forever.
Here we have an act of stealing, which is not only a criminal act, but an immoral act. And the opposite of this is labor, which is an honorable and honest thing to do in life. Stealing is trying to get something for nothing, trying to get something that you do not deserve, did not earn, and are not entitled to. Labor, is the act of working or doing something productive, getting paid or getting some legitimate benefit for your effort, and then enjoying legitimately the benefits of your effort. Laziness is the opposite. To do nothing means that you deserve nothing.
Now apply this to the spiritual life.
To reject God, Christ, doctrine and your daily study, is the same as stealing, as laziness, as immorality. You do nothing, expect everything, but deserve nothing. Your blessings from God are zip.
To accept God, Christ, doctrine and to pursue your daily bible study, means that you look to God, look to truth, look to your spiritual growth and make an honest and honorable effort to comply with what God expects of you. In that, you receive blessings now, and especially in eternity, where by the way you will live the bulk of your forever life.
Also, there are always side benefits to your honest efforts. Others benefit too.
When society on the whole is immoral, then everyone suffers. When society on the whole is moral, then everyone benefits.
An immoral society experiences famines and flood and storms and economic declines and that affects prices and jobs and on and on.
When government tries to legislate morals then society declines, depravity is the result of false virtue, indolence is the result of false industry, indifference is the result of false ambitions, and ignorance is the result of false education.
A moral society experiences blessings, which in turn translates into prosperity and benefits for all.
Example. These United States were founded on Biblical principles, we started out a very poor and weak nation, but rocketed into the greatest nation in history.
Even today as society is seemingly moving toward anti-God principles, the strong foundation that has existed before, still remains and the benefits of those structures will continue for a long time. Sooner or later, however, even the best of empires, fail under the pressures of immoral standards. History is the living record of that.
In contrast there are other nations on this planet who reject God, or have their own versions of a god, they have been around far, far, far longer than our nation and yet many aspects of those nations are still living in the stone age, so to speak, with no economy to speak of, no productivity, no innovation, massive poverty that keeps on continuing from generation to generations and on and on.
So, the very best charitable activity that you can possibly pursue, by far, is accomplished by pursuing your daily bible study. God does the rest. And others gain help by virtue of your spiritual accomplishments.
Theologically speaking this is called blessings by association. Living in this country you cannot help but be blessed in some fashion simply by being here.
On the other hand, there is cursing by association, wherein if you associate with immorality, then you reap the cost of that choice. And that cost is always bad for you.
The source of morality is God, never you. The benefits from morality come from God, never you.
So, believer and unbeliever alike can benefit from a strong moral society.
