27-Minor Ministerial Ethics
CHAPTER XXVII MINOR MINISTERIAL ETHICS
THERE is no professional worker whose service is affected more by an unethical quality in his living and conduct than that of the minister. Yet it might be possible, as Doctor Batten suggests, 1 to say that the ministry as a body has no code of professional ethics. This is true, however, only when we mean by a professional code one that has been formally elaborated and adopted by a group of workers who were empowered to speak for a whole profession.
Examples of such codes are found in the canons of ethics for lawyers, adopted by the American Bar Association, and in a code of medical ethics adopted by the American Medical Association.
Several reasons may be urged for the lack of such a formal code for religious workers. The motive for entering the ministry differs radically from that of any other profession, as has been suggested in a previous chapter. It might be assumed that men acting from such a motive would not need the restraints of a formal ethical code.
Again, practically all ministers belong to particular denominations. The differences separating these religious bodies are very marked. Each has its own standards for its own ministers, but it would be difficult to secure the cooperation of all in formulating a code which should be binding upon all. Nevertheless, the profession is tested by the highest standards. There are those who believe that the unwritten Constitution of England is of greater practical utility than the written Constitution of the United States. Similarly, the unofficial code of ethics for the ministry is more exact a See an article, “The Ethics of the Ministry,” in Annals of the American Academy of Political Science, May, 1922, p. 147.
291 292 THE PASTORAL OFFICE ing than the carefully formulated rules which govern workers in other professions. A minister will be discredited and unfrocked for private conduct which would not affect at all the professional standing of a lawyer or a physician. This is due chiefly to the fact that he stands before the community as a teacher of New Testament ethics, and by this Christian standard, which he interprets, the community inevitably will judge him.
Besides the restraints imposed upon his private and professional life by the ethics of the New Testament, the minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church is bound by a carefully written code set forth in the Discipline of the church. 2 It is called “the rules for a preacher’s conduct.”
These were written first by John Wesley for the guidance of his English preachers. On the organization of the church in America, they were adopted by the ministers in the new country, and have been confirmed by each succeeding General Conference. Every minister who applies for admission into an Annual Conference is asked, “Have you considered the rules for a preacher, especially those relating to diligence, to punctuality, and to doing the work to which you were assigned, and will you keep them for conscience’ sake?” Thus each candidate for our ministry admits this code as binding, in spirit, upon himself.
Formal professional codes aim to safeguard the entrance to the profession, to maintain the dignity and standing of the profession, and to assert with great care the obligation of all professional workers to be bound by the motive of service. The principles of medical ethics, as set forth by the American Medical Association, are arranged in three chapters, namely, (i) The Duties of Physicians to Their Patients, (2) The Duties of Physicians to Each Other and the Profession at Large, (3) The Duties of the Profession to the Public. The concluding paragraph says, “While the foregoing state *Discipline, 1920, W 117-130.
MINOR MINISTERIAL ETHICS 293 ments express in a general way the duty of the physician,... it is not to be supposed that they cover the whole field of medical ethics, or that the physician is not under many duties and obligations besides these herein set forth.” A similar statement might be made in concluding the rules for a preacher’s conduct. These rules take account chiefly of matters of major importance. But many ministers become wholly unacceptable, not through the violation of these greater rules but through disregard of minor matters, which, though trivial by comparison, are of great consequence in the community’s estimate of their efficiency. In this chapter we shall deal with these little things, many of which are not mentioned at all in the chapter in the Discipline on “Qualifications and Work of the Ministry,” and one might even search the New Testament in vain for a statement concerning some of them. Saint Paul says, “I put no obstacle in the path of any so that my ministry may not be discredited.” 3 Every minister should be equally eager to remove from his life and conduct everything, however trifling, which in any way reflects upon his office. It is impossible to make a complete catalogue of these faults. They fall into a few great groups which are not mutually exclusive.
Such practical classifications as are attempted here include only the more common failings. We must repeat that which has been affirmed so often in these pages, that there is no safe guide in these matters except what is afforded by a discriminating taste and a sensitive conscience. i. PERSONAL HYGIENE, a. It is so regrettable as to be painful that some ministers are untidy to an intolerable degree. The mediaeval association between piety and filth is no longer admitted. No degree of sanctity, and no depth of ministerial poverty will ever excuse soiled linen, grimy hands, black finger nails, unbrusbed teeth, dirty shoes, vests spotted with grease, dandruff-covered coat collars, in the minister himself, Nor will they excuse untidy housekeeping *2 Corinthians 6:3, Moffatf’s translation.
294 THE PASTORAL OFFICE or unkempt children in his home. Each of these things betrays an indifference to personal cleanliness which everywhere shocks the sensibilities of people of ordinary refinement. How can they respect the minister’s judgment in spiritual things when they must apologize for him in such elementary matters as these? “I am ashamed to introduce him to my business associates as my minister,” exclaimed a vexed layman whose badly groomed pastor was a constant source of humiliation. ft. But some who are meticulous in caring for the outside of the body are grossly indifferent to the inside, with the result that spiritual efficiency becomes seriously impaired through low physical vitality. The men who follow sedentary occupations must put their bodies under and provide sparingly for physical appetites. Ministers are proverbially poor, but that does not keep some of them from eating too much. Nor is it altogether a question of quantity, but also one of kinds of food. They consume too much meat and starch, and too little fruit and green vegetables. The organs of digestion and elimination are overloaded. Constipation, kidney trouble, indigestion, and foul breath inevitably result. John Wesley’s demand that his preachers should fast regularly was justifiable on physiological as well as religious grounds. “Do you use only that kind and degree of food which is best both for body and soul? Do you eat no more at each meal than is necessary? Are you not heavy or drowsy after dinner?” 4 An overfed body is not an effective instrument for the soul. c. Posture has much to do with physical efficiency.
Physicians tell us that man has limb for limb, bone for bone, and muscle for muscle with other mammals. His upright position puts an unaccustomed strain on the nervous system. The weight, which in other animals is supported by the abdominal muscles, settles into the pelvis and puts pressure on new nerve centers. This strain quickly produces a ’Discipline, 1920, Tfi2if.
MINOR MINISTERIAL ETHICS 295 sense of fatigue. The only way to relieve it is to maintain a good posture head erect, shoulders thrown back, and abdomen supported by muscular effort. Yet how infrequently does one find a minister who carries himself properly! Generally he stands lop-sidedly on one foot, chest and shoulders thrown forward, and abdominal muscles completely relaxed. He thinks he stands this way because he is tired. As a matter of fact, the truth probably is that he is tired because he stands this way. d. Exercise is important too, though not in the same sense as for the athlete. The minister does not need hard muscles. He requires only that degree of physical activity which will keep every bodily organ in good condition. Setting-up exercises morning and night, and additional exercise which will be equivalent to a five-mile walk each day, will generally suffice.
2. GOOD MANNERS. Of all men in the world, the minister should be most mannerly; yet good manners are not always in evidence among religious leaders. We are not thinking now of codes of etiquette which prescribe in detail the action appropriate to ceremonial occasions. “The words etiquette and ticket have the same origin. Formerly, the rules and ceremonies to be observed at court were printed on a ticket, and given to every person presented at court.” So E. J.
Hardy comments in How to Be Happy Though Civil. 6 Rules of this kind.change, like fashions, with every wind.
We have in mind, rather, that gentle bearing and consideration for others which is indispensable to happy relations among men. Edmund Burke says: “Manners are of more importance than laws. Upon them, in great measure, the laws depend. The law touches here and there, now and then. Manners are what vex or soothe, corrupt or purify, exalt or debase, barbarize or refine us, by a constant, steady, uniform, insensible operation, like the air we breathe in.
They give their whole form and color to our lives. Accord
“P. 13.
296 THE PASTORAL OFFICE ing to their quality, they aid morals, they supply them, or they totally destroy them.” e In spite, however, of the obligation which his religion imposes upon him to be civil, and its usefulness in allaying the frictions incident to his work, the rude and ill-mannered minister is conspicuous and discredits the whole profession. This is apparent in his ostentatious disregard of proprieties on the supposition that he is proving himself democratic; in conversing with guests in the pulpit while others are contributing to public worship; in looking bored while others are speaking; in taking more than his share of time on a program when others besides himself are to speak; in self-assertively doing all the talking at a dinner party or other social occasion; in affecting eccentricities of dress and manner; in petty concern for his own prestige, anxious that proper deference shall be paid him on every occasion; in parading the affairs of his own household and the cleverness of his own children before the congregation; in improper bodily contacts with members of the congregation, jocosely slapping men on the back and sentimentally dealing with women or holding their hands in bath his own as though he were their father or older brother; in carelessness about engagements; in slangy and coarse speech; in discourteous contradiction of the statements of others; in fidgeting and fussing; in planning to get before the public and see his name in print; in picking his teeth, chewing toothpicks, trimming his finger nails, and expectorating in public places; in assuming generally that the obligation to be a Christian gentleman rests upon every person in the world but himself. Of course no one minister was ever quite guilty of all these faults, but everyone knows some minister who is guilty of one or more of them. Bad manners are regrettable for any minister. They are inexcusable for Methodist ministers. Professor Hoppin, of Yale University, said, “John Wesley, plain and severe as we picture ’Quoted by E. J. Hardy, op. ciL, p. 12.
MINOR MINISTERIAL ETHICS 297 him, insisted upon the highest style of manners in the ministerial office, all the courtesy of the gentleman joined with the correctness of the scholar/* 7 The causes of bad manners are numerous. Defective early training is surely one. This usually applies, however, only to those conventions which are indispensable to social intercourse. Wherever there are contacts with our fellowmen, to proceed according to well-recognized customs is to reduce friction. To disregard them will only create confusion and misunderstanding as certainly as failure to heed the signal of a traffic officer. For example, if one is a guest in a private home during Annual Conference, he is expected to act as if he understood perfectly that a home is not a hotel. He will disturb the routine of the family as little as possible and make his convenience suit that of the family if within his power. And on returning to his own home, he will send a note of appreciation to his hosts for their gracious hospitality. To conduct oneself otherwise under circumstances such as these will open the way to censure. But defective conduct which grows out of ignorance of social conventions is not especially serious when one honestly intends to be thoughtful, modest, and courteous. He may inform himself concerning polite usages by studying a good volume on manners. The situation is much more complicated when the cause is a wrong inner attitude of heart and mind. Vanity is one of these. This is responsible for the self-conscious assertion of oneself on small occasions telling what others have said about one’s sermons, parading one’s hobbies and private affairs as if they must be of universal interest. “The vain man can scarcely be well-mannered; he is so absorbed in the contemplation of his own perfections that he cannot think of other people and study their feelings.” 8 Irritability is another fruitful source of incivility, whether it is caused by weariness, illness, or constitutional churlishness. The irri Theology, p. 196.
“E. J. Hardy, op. cit, p. 116.
298 THE PASTORAL OFFICE tated person is always chiefly concerned with himself, full of fault-finding, and lacking in appreciation of others.
Probably every other source of bad manners, however, is gathered up under this disregard for other persons. Bad pulpit manners are due to lack of respect for God and the congregation. All vulgar conduct loudness, coarseness, silliness, boorishness, obtrusiveness of every sort is due to lack of regard for the rights and feelings and presence of others. Reverence for others impels to love and sympathy, which prompts us to be courteous. Disregard for others impels us to throw away all self-restraint and let ourselves go according to the feeling of the moment. The cure for bad manners is, of course, suggested by their several causes. If they are due to faulty education, then one should study some good guide to social conduct, watch the way in which others deport themselves, and eliminate that in one’s own conduct which contrasts unpleasantly with their action. If vanity be the cause, then one must stop thinking of himself. If irritability, then one must learn to master his moods. If they are due to lack of respect for others, then one must learn to reverence personality wherever it is found, whether in God or a congregation, in adults or children. One who reverences all men because they are men will never quite abandon himself to say or do just what he likes. He will be concerned less with making himself comfortable and more with putting others at their ease.
“To listen when we are bored, to talk when we are listless, to stand when we are tired, to praise when we are indifferent, to accept the companionship of a stupid acquaintance when we might, at the expense of politeness, escape to a clever friend, to endure with smiling composure the near presence of people who are distasteful to us these things, and many like them, brace the sinews of our souls. They set a fine and delicate standard for common intercourse.
They discipline us for the good of the community.” 9 “Agnes Repplier, Americans and Others, p. 26. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifilin Company.
MINOR MINISTERIAL ETHICS 299 3. UNREALITY. Among the influences which “unmake” a preacher, President (emeritus) Tucker, of Dartmouth, gives the primacy to unreality. This he defines as “the failure to get right correspondence between the expression and the comprehension of truth.” 10 One less gifted with philosophic insight, and less skillful in saying harsh things sweetly, might define it simply as affectation, artificiality, insincerity, or plain “bluff.” a. This peril threatens the intellectual life of many ministers who pretend a knowledge which they do not possess, and affect an assurance which their attainments do not warrant. They are given to dogmatic utterance without offering solid reasons for their statements, and exalt their own unsupported opinions as the standards by which all in the community must stand or fall. At the best this intellectual unreality consists in affirming the ancient beliefs in ancient phraseology without verifying them in one’s own personal experience; and at the worst it consists in grossly putting forth as one’s own the thoughts and experiences of others. Conceivably it might consist ii preaching less than one believes rather than more in permitting the congregation to think that one accepts old statements of belief which, as a matter of fact, he secretly rejects.
&. Unreality breaks out too at the point of the emotional life, manifesting itself in the pulpit in a “ministerial tone,” in “rhetorical courage,” in gestures and voice artificially solemn or strenuous, in a religious fervor which one does not feel. In social contacts it expresses itself in gushing, and unctuous compliments on meeting people, in pretending to know or remember everyone, in excessive and flattering graciousness which does not represent one’s true feeling. The necessity that is on the minister to make himself agreeable to all for the sake of their cooperation in his work strongly tempts him to become affected. c. Moreover, unreality is reflected in the petty devices “The Making and Unmaking of the Preacher, p. 62, 300 THE PASTORAL OFFICE sometimes employed to give am, appearance of success in church work which would not otherwise be suspected. For example, informing the church press each time the salary is increased, or an invitation is received to speak on some special occasion; special diligence in visiting just previous to the fourth Quarterly Conference in order to make a good report, even counting casual conversations on the street or at the post office as pastoral calls; Annual Conference reports of church and Sunday-school membership based on generous estimates rather than careful tabulations; reporting as “converted” all who bow at the altars of the church for any reason during special meetings; reporting large numbers received into church membership without explaining that a majority came by transfer, or that many were counted twice once as probationers, and again when received into full membership. In these and countless other ways ministers may degrade themselves to make a “good showing.” The preacher may be excused for lack of eloquence and brilliancy, but never for lack of candor and simple honesty.
4. FINANCIAL MATTERS. Delinquency in matters of finance hinders the effectiveness of some ministers. a. This more commonly takes the form of debt, which trails them from charge to charge. It is easy to buy “on account,” and the salary is generally meager. So the creditor may seem to be a real friend. But to pay is difficult, sometimes impossible, and good men have been impelled by sheer desperation to undertake disastrous ventures in speculation or “borrow” church funds in the hope of escaping from debt. Or it may be that they have become callously indifferent to their obligations, which is worse. The minister should borrow money sparingly; he should not run current bills in excess of his monthly salary; and when obligations fall due he should make no delay in meeting them. If he cannot pay when he promised, let him say so frankly and arrange for an extension of time, but never disregard the obligation.
MINOR MINISTERIAL ETHICS 301
6. Church Funds. The minister may become seriously involved through the careless handling of church funds. A few simple rules will save him trouble and possibly shame, (i) Never accept responsibility for administering funds which properly should be deposited with one of the church treasurers. (2) In case it seems imperatively necessary to become the custodian of church moneys, never deposit or in any way mix them with personal funds. Open separate accounts for them at the bank. And never borrow from them for private use. (3) Keep a careful and clear record of all receipts and expenditures of such moneys. (4) Insist that at regular and frequent intervals, all accounts shall be carefully audited by competent persons. c. Supplementing the Salary. Frequently an insufficient salary, or sometimes plain commerciai-mindedness, impels ministers to resort to various methods of increasing their income while continuing in the pastorate. Farming; investments in enterprises which promise large returns in interest or dividends; selling life insurance; breeding poultry, rabbits, or dogs for the market; buying and selling stocks, land, timber, or fruit orchards; taking agencies, or permitting their children to do so, to sell books, pictures, etc, to the community in which they live these, together with writing and lecturing, are among the more common devices usually employed. Obviously, not all of these are equally objectionable. For example, to go on a Chautauqua circuit certainly comports more with the dignity of the ministry than to promote the sale of oil or mining stocks. There is great need for discrimination in these matters. The following observations would seem to be pertinent, (1) The Methodist minister has taken a vow “to give himself wholly to the work of the ministry.” Whatever more may be implied, this surely means that he shall have an undivided mind with reference to his work. Anything which seriously diverts his attention or makes large demands upon his time and strength must be pushed aside.
(2) While the church is obligated to provide a suitable 302 THE PASTORAL OFFICE support for the minister and his family, it cannot be expected to do more than this. The ministry in whatever form must never become attractive by virtue of financial rewards. Its large compensations must ever be found in the peculiar aims and satisfactions of the work.
(3) There would seem to be no inherent impropriety in extra-ministerial labor along kindred lines, such as writing or lecturing, provided it is not allowed to interfere with one’s main task.
(4) In the event that a minister cannot live on what the church will pay him he may honorably abandon the ministry for commercial pursuits, but he may not follow them and continue in the ministry on salary. Secular work is highly diverting and distracting. Moreover, the best conscience of the community insists that if the minister engages in it he should do so on terms of equality with others. He may not claim a subsidy in the form of a salary for religious work and then enter into competition with those who enjoy no such advantage, or, perhaps, have helped provide the subsidy for him.
(5) The minister should be thrifty so far as lies in his power. He is under obligation to save something out of his salary to provide comfort in old age or to protect his family in case of death. At the best his savings will be small. It is imperative then, that in investing them, he shall have regard, first, for the safety of his principal. Less than a rich man can he afford to risk his all in questionable ventures, and he may safely assume that any enterprise is questionable which seeks to finance itself on the small savings of salaried persons by the promise of large returns.
// it were a good investment, its promoters could get their capital from the banks. And the minister cannot afford to invest his money in what the banks consider worthless.
Life insurance is the wisest investment for the person of small salary. In case of early death, it returns many times the amount paid in premiums, while if one lives until the policy matures, at least a reasonable interest is returned for MINOR MINISTERIAL ETHICS 303 the use of the principal. One will usually be very wise in refusing to invest in enterprises which promise more than five and a half or sixpercent. It is the part of wisdom to consult a good banker before making an investment.
(6) A minister as agent should never seek to influence others in making investments. Much kss should he appeal to the religious motive to risk their savings in highly speculative enterprises. This is beneath contempt. For similar exploitation of religious instincts and institutions in the interest of personal profit, Jesus became greatly angered and drove the money-changers from the Temple with a heavy corded whip. And honest men to-day are filled with a sense of outrage at such abuse of ministerial power.
5. MENDICANCY. The mendicant-priest and the beggingfriar are familiar figures among non-Christians and Catholics. Theoretically, Protestantism makes no place for these professional “holy men” with their ostentatious poverty. But as a matter of fact the spirit of mendicancy obtrudes itself under all forms of religion. It has entered into the heart of every one who finds himself asking or expecting favors because he is a religious worker by profession, which he never would receive if he were not. Doubtless all are familiar with the reasons by which the clergy justify (to their own satisfaction) the custom of accepting presents, discounts, and special consideration of all kinds. But the fact remains that the finest spirits in the ministry have ever heard with whole-hearted approval Jesus’ injunction to the twelve, “Take no wallet [begging bowl].” 11 Phillips Brooks exclaims bravely, “That which ought to be the manliest of all professions has a tendency, practically, to make men unmanly. Men make appeals for sympathy that no true man should make. They take to themselves Saint Paul’s pathos without Saint Paul’s strength. Against that tendency, my friends, set your whole force.” 12 Perhaps a u Luke 9:3 12 By permission from Lectures on Preaching, p. 68f. Copyright by E. P. Button and Company.
304 THE PASTORAL OFFICE better support for the ministry awaits the coming of a generation of preachers who will refuse to accept gratuities as a substitute for a fair salary, 6. LAZINESS. This may be physical, but it is more likely to be intellectual. In the interest of comfort there is a pronounced disinclination to wrestle manfully with the problems of thought which arise in religion. Some make themselves think they are too busy to study as if one could ever be excused for neglecting the principal task because of any number of lesser ones. Intellectual apathy may go hand in hand with physical vigor. The man who likes to work in the garden may put in time there which properly belongs to his books. Moreover, his delight in human companionship may smother mental and spiritual culture. Under a pretext of social sympathy which takes him among the people he shirks the hard and lonely tasks of study and reflection.
7. IMPROPER SPEECH. “Sin not with thy tongue!” should be written in bold letters above the study table of every minister. It includes every sort of improper utterance, ungenerous and gossipy speech about one’s brother ministers, inane story-telling and jesting, “smart” sayings which rankle and sting, as well as vulgarity and obscenity. Especially should the ecclesiastical buffoon be on his guard the man who is full of Bible jokes. The hot wrath of Phillips Brooks blazes forth on all such. “There are passages in the Bible which are soiled forever by the touches which the hands of ministers who delight in cheap and easy jokes have left upon them. I think there is nothing that stirs one’s indignation more th&n this, in all he sees of ministers. It is a purely wanton fault. What is simply stupid everywhere else becomes terrible here.” 13
8. CovETOtr&NESS. The tenth commandment in the Decalogue (against covetousness) should have a conspicuous place in any rules laid down for the conduct of ministers, **By permission from Lectures on Preaching, p. 54. Copyright by E. P. Button and Company.
MINOR MINISTERIAL ETHICS 305 amended, of course, to suit an ecclesiastical situation. Who has not met the minister who was envious of the esteem in which his predecessor is held? or who was jealous of his successor for captivating so readily the hearts of a former congregation? or who was so intent upon getting into a general office or a traveling secretaryship that he neglected his pastoral work? This is responsible for all that is offensive in “ecclesiastical politics” unashamed and immodest selfseeking for ecclesiastical preferment. There is not so much of it as is supposed, but more than should be. A highly centralized form of church government, which requires a large number of general officers, may make it easy for men to sin in this way. But the best conscience of the church insists that anyone is disqualified for its high offices who selfassertively offers himself as a candidate or is active in promoting his own cause, whether he be a minister or a layman. The one serious criticism that may be made against our form of church government is that the administrative office is magnified above all others, and constantly operates to create dissatisfaction with the pastorate. If the pastorate could be restored in the consciousness of the church to the place of primacy among church offices, and the administrative office really be regarded as secondary, and so rewarded, covetousness might not disappear entirely but its forms certainly would be greatly modified.
9. RELATIONS WITH WOMEN. The most tragic experience that can come to a church is to have its pastor discredited because of immoral relations with women. Comparatively few ministers are unfaithful at this point so few that the story of such a fall is told on the front page of every important newspaper on the continent, though he may have been previously the most obscure of men. Nevertheless, this type of delinquency is common enough to warrant particular mention in this chapter. At two periods in his life a man may be in imminent peril ftom sexual appetite once in youth before he has come to understand fully the significance of manhood, and again 306 THE PASTORAL OFFICE in middle age when, weary of life’s prosaic responsibilities, the desire for romance flares up and tempts him to relieve the tedium of commonplace days by irresponsible adventure.
It is in the second of these periods that the minister is most likely to fall, for the first will have passed as a rule before, he has begun his professional career; and if it had not passed without serious mishap, he would not have been admitted to the ministry. In the later period his danger may be increased by a false sense of security growing out of his paternal relation to his own household. His fatherly consciousness may lead him to be more familiar with all women than he was as a younger man. And if, unfortunately, misunderstanding has arisen between himself and wife, leaving him to crave a sympathy which he thinks she does not give, the peril is still further magnified.
Two types of women may shake his self-control at this time; one is a young woman, attractive in personality and mystical in temperament, who may be very active in church work and thus thrown much in the pastor’s company. Her interest in the things he counts most worth while may lead quite innocently on her part to an interest in herself which neither intended. If both are strong, they will remain masters of themselves. If either is weak, disaster may follow. The other is a middle-aged woman who shares with him the desire for romantic adventure which experience does not gratify in middle life. She too is likely to be physically attractive, religious by temperament, and will come into frequent contact with him in doing the work of the church. But life will have taught her so much that innocence can never be affirmed of her relation to the matter any more than of his. Of course a younger minister, especially if he is unmarried, is not free from danger, but the fact that most preachers who fall thus are between thirty-five and fifty years old suggests that the middle-aged man should be particularly on his guard. In his relations with women, then, the minister should have strict regard for the following considerations, MINOR MINISTERIAL ETHICS 307 a. Cultivate the habit of a clean imagination. No sin of this kind is ever committed without some degree of premeditation. Unclean thinking,is always antecedent to unclean living. Behavior only reveals what has long been hidden in the “chambers of imagery.”
6. Discipline the physical instincts by vigorous physical living. A young man is often in less danger than a middleaged man because he is more active. Blood running fast and full of oxygen from exercise makes for pure thinking.
David was betrayed into his sin with Bathsheba after he had given up the active life of camp and field for the passive life of court and palace. And many another man has gone wrong after he dropped into the sluggish physical habits of the forties and fifties.
. In the matter of physical contacts, the minister should govern himself with the greatest restraint outside his own family circle. There is no conceivable emergency that can arise in pastoral or social relations which will give any warrant for sentimentally putting one’s hand on a woman or otherwise coming into close bodily contact. And even to take her hand in both one’s own in shaking hands is an exhibition of bad manners that is open to serious criticism. d. Let him cherish constantly a sense of his responsibility for the spiritual and moral well-being of all in the community. So he will have a care that none are destroyed through his bad example. e. Let him be sensible of his own everlasting need of divine grace. Let him, like Saint Paul, live in holy fear of failing to exemplify in his own life the gospel he preaches to others. “I buff et my body, and bring it into bondage, lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected” (1 Corinthians 9:27).