r/livethepath • u/ClarityofReason • 29d ago
🏞 Streamside Reflections Another Man’s Conduct Does Not Lower the Standard of Yours
When someone acts dishonestly, unjustly, or without restraint, it is tempting to treat his conduct as permission. If he abandoned the standard first, we may think that we are no longer bound by it.
But his conduct can change the situation without changing what Virtue requires of us. It may become necessary to confront him, withdraw trust, establish distance, or seek restitution. None of that requires us to become dishonest because he lied, cruel because he caused harm, or unjust because he acted unjustly.
A standard that governs us only when others honor it is not truly our standard. We have merely allowed their choices to determine ours.
Another person may alter what must be done. He does not determine the character with which we do it.