As a Pittsburgh native, of course I bleed black and gold. Of course I’m a Steelers fan. And of course, living in central Ohio, I’m surrounded by Bengals and Browns fans. Now most of the time I can have a civil conversation with other people about our favorite NFL teams. But there are some people who take it more seriously than others. For them, I can’t give them a good-natured ribbing after their Ohio team loses to my team from the Steel City, because if I bring it up, it makes them really mad. As in, “they don’t want to talk to me” mad. So if I want to truly love my neighbor, the only course of action that is proper for me is to not bring up the fact that their team lost spectacularly to the gridiron greats from my hometown. Why? Because I’d be knowingly and intentionally causing them to lose their virtue of temperance. And even if I just wanted to talk about the game and my intent wasn’t to rub their faces in their loss, knowing that they react in a very negative yet passionate way to a discussion about a Steelers win over the Bengals or Browns is enough to know that it is a topic that should be avoided if I truly love my neighbor. You see, bringing up the loss of their favorite team has them re-living the loss all over again, in play-by-play detail. And it doesn’t matter if intentionally want to provoke them, or if I unintentionally provoke them… if I engage in an activity that I know has the possibility of provoking someone to negative thoughts and emotions, I’m still in the wrong. Intentional or unintentional, I’m still morally guilty of what the Catholic Church calls “giving scandal,” which she defines as “an attitude or behavior which leads another to do evil. the person who gives scandal becomes his neighbor’s tempter. He damages virtue and integrity; he may even draw his brother into spiritual death. Scandal is a grave offense if by deed or omission another is deliberately led into a grave offense.” (CCC 2284 “Respect for the Dignity of Persons”)
So let’s up the heat level a few degrees and talk politics.
Hypothetically, let’s say that there’s a Senator Huphnagle from your state who is a member of the Bull Moose party. And let’s say that Bill hates the Bull Moose party with a burning passion. Well, Senator Huphnagle just introduced a bill to ban ice cream, and Bill is steaming mad about it. So he takes to social media and vents his anger. He shares memes and makes comments wherever he can, and he gets into firey debates in the comments and in online forums. Then Bill thinks about the family members and friends and neighbors who are members of the Bull Moose party, and who he knows voted for Senator Huphnagle. So he starts emailing them. And texting them. In so doing, Bill intentionally or unintentionally provokes people to negative thoughts or actions. Guess what? Bill is morally guilty of giving scandal. And you know what else? He’s not loving his neighbor.
Let’s make the heat a little hotter still.
Hypothetically, let’s say there’s a guy named Larry. Larry is single, and he works in an office with Alice, who is unhappily married. Now, Larry is a young attractive guy, and he flirts with Alice. Nothing serious, he thinks, because after all… Alice is married. He’s not really interested in her, he’s just “being a guy.” Besides, he likes the attention Alice gives him. And while he doesn’t say anything that would cause the HR department to get involved, his flirting is enough to cause Alice to daydream about what it would be like to break the 6th Commandment with Larry. Larry has no control over Alice’s thoughts, and he didn’t necessarily intend for her to commit adultery in her heart, but guess what? Larry is morally guilty of giving scandal. Larry is not loving his neighbor.
Now, let’s make things really hot.
For decades, people have been dressing with less and less modesty. As I noted in my first book, Rebellion, the trend for ladies’ hemlines went above the knee for the first time in 1921. “By 1950, science fiction TV series Space Patrol hemlines had climbed to mid-thigh, and the show was targeted to children.” Today, some people wear to work, to the grocery store, and—sadly—to the celebration of Holy Mass what would’ve been inappropriate to wear to the beach less than a century ago. Then, whenever someone is critical of what is considered acceptable attire by modern standards, it is met with a backlash of, “I’m not doing anything wrong! If other people can’t handle the way I dress, that’s their problem, not mine!” But underneath the roar of the “I can wear whatever I want!” crowd, the truth whispers: “You are morally guilty of giving scandal. You are not loving your neighbor.”
You see, my fellow saints in progress, we have a moral obligation to not become a near occasion of sin for our neighbor. Whether intentional or not, if we knowingly engage in behavior that provokes our neighbor or tempts them into sinful behavior, we have forcibly become a near occasion of sin for our neighbor.
Think about what we are bombarded with all day in our modern-day society: political yard signs and flags that wage a silent war. Social media memes and short-form video clips full of rage. Comments and forums filled with vitriol and anger. Bumper stickers and t-shirts emblazoned with messages designed to purposefully rankle other people. Text messages that serve no purpose but to inflame and infuriate. TV “news” and late-night “comedians” who do nothing but hurl sharp words designed to provoke a response. Songs, movies, TV shows, books, and magazines glorify every imaginable sin against the 6th and 9th Commandments, which only encourages the consumers of said media to have their life imitate what passes for today’s version of “art.” And yes, the wearing of clothes designed purposefully to reveal rather than conceal.
Now think of how many of those things you are personally engaged in.
Think of your t-shirts and bumper stickers and yard signs. Think of your social media posts and comments. Think of your text messages and emails. Think of your conversations. Think of the clothes you wear. Then think of the definition of “giving scandal.”
Finally, ask yourself:
“Am I truly loving my neighbor?”
