The Only True Source of Moral Standards

There is only one true Source for standards of morality-the Creator of mankind, Jehovah God.  Soon after creating the first man, Adam, Jehovah God laid this command upon the man:  "From every tree of the garden you may eat to satisfaction.  But as for the tree of  the knowledge of good and bad you must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will positively die." (Genesis 2:16, 17)  Jehovah God gave the tree that unique name to denote his exclusive right to decide what is good and what is bad for his creatures.  God's standards of good and bad thus became the basis  for judgment, or evaluation, of  a person's deeds, outlook, and personality traits.  Without such standards we could not correct distinguish right from wrong.

The  command concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and bad set before Adam and Eve a choice-to obey or not to obey.  For them, virtue meant obedience  to that command.  In time, Jehovah further revealed what pleases him and what displeases him, and he had this recorded for us in the Bible.  Cultivating virtue, then, entails our conforming to Jehovah's righteous standards set out in the Scriptures.

Next time: Get Fully Acquainted With God's Standards

The Watchtower, 2001