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     “Are we there yet?” Sammy stopped, opened his canteen and drank slowly so he wouldn’t spill a drop. As an eleven-year-old, he loved adventure, but everything had its limits.
     “Almost,” Benji mumbled. “Just over that next ridge. It’s not far.” He opened his compass again and pointed it toward a tall slim pine tree in the direction they were going.
     “We should have been back an hour ago. Dad’s going to be worried.”
     “I got this, Sammy.” He snapped the compass closed, stuffed it back into his pocket and turned to continue along the deer trail they had stumbled on. He glanced behind him.
     Sammy had screwed the cap back onto his canteen, but he just stood looking at Benji.
     “What?” Benji’s voice tinged with irritation.
     “Older brothers aren’t always right,” Sammy had placed both hands on his hips in mild defiance. “We saw that tree an hour ago. You’re taking us in circles.”
     Benji snapped, “Sammy, there are thousands of trees in this forest, and they all look alike. I’m following my compass.

CedarMountainTree

     Sammy pointed toward the tree and began tracing its outline against the afternoon sky. “A full bushy top like your hair. The whole left side covered in branches all the way down to the horizon. Only a few dwindling branches on the right side like a stripped flag pole. We saw that tree over an hour ago.”
     Benji’s face turned red. They were about to enter one of their famous shouting matches, when a crashing sound of branches breaking under the weight of a large animal. They turned toward the sound and began backing up.
     Mr. Carlson stepped into view.
     “Dad!” they both yelled.
     He smiled and moved toward them. “I’m glad you stuck to an animal trail.”
     Both brothers started talking and interrupting one another, when their dad raised his hand and cut them off. “Benji, let me see your compass.”

OldCompassVintageMap

     Benji pulled it out of his pocket and handed it to his dad.
     His dad took a reading and pointed north.
     Benji exclaimed, “That’s not the reading I’ve been getting!”
     Sammy started to speak, but his dad stared at him. Sammy cut off his smug smile.
     “What else do you have in your pocket?” Mr. Carlson asked Benji.
     Benji pulled out his car keys.
     His dad chuckled. “Not your fault, Benj.” Mr. Carlson sent a mild reprimanding glance toward Sammy, who remained quiet. “You took your readings immediately after taking it out of your pocket, and the magnetism in the keys changed the compass’ polarity just enough to keep you from noticing. The compass didn’t have time to readjust. The compass isn’t broken, just slightly deceived.” He chuckled. “That happened to me once. That was a funny story.”
     Sammy instantly forgot the jabs he had planned for his brother. “Will you tell us the story on the way back? Please, please, please!”

A "deceived" compass

Allowing a compass to be even a little deceived can end in tragedy. In the physical realm, you can take the wrong path and end up at the wrong destination. Those who claim that the journey is the “thing,” end up going nowhere. It’s nice when one can enjoy the journey, but few people have the luxury of taking journeys and getting nowhere.

We rely on a compass to point us in the right direction, because we know the destination. Without a destination in mind, a compass becomes a useless burden to be carried along for no reason. The compass chooses a fixed reference point in our surroundings to put us on the right path and keep us there.

But can we always trust our compass? Can it lose it’s ability to guide us?

• We could smash it. End of clear direction.
• We could lose it. End of clear direction.
• We can intentionally demagnetize it, because it interferes with electronic devices or it just needs to be disposed of.
• We can also accidentally demagnetize it. Set it down too close to a fire and leaving it long enough to destroy its magnetic dipoles ordered orientation. Hit it with a hard object just hard enough to destroy its magnetism. Dropping it onto a hard object.
• We could intentionally demagnetize it. Passing a strong AC current through it, or placing a magnet in a magnetic field of a compass, or applying a magnetic field with the opposite polarity beyond the polarity reversal, then stopping the field source (“knockdown demagnetization”).

Most people throw away a broken compass and buy another one.

A Moral Compass

A physical compass and a moral compass have four things in common.

  • First, a source outside ourselves that we choose to listen to.
  • Second, guidance. Why have a compass if we don’t allow ourselves to be guided by it?
  • Every culture has both physical guidance and moral guidance systems.
  • Third, both can be broken or even destroyed.

A physical compass and a moral compass have four differences.

First, they function in different realms. The soul is who we are. Our bodies just house our souls. The vast majority of our problems reside in our souls. How a person handles physical suffering depends on how the person treats his soul.

Second, they have different rules. All the same words have different definitions. Magnetism. Conscience. Natural Laws. Higher Being(s).

Third, every culture promotes its own morality. Even those who reject the any form of a higher being have their own code of morality.

Fourth, a physical compass is a physical compass in every society. Moral compasses rely on different sources for guidance. Whether we realize it or not, every human wrestles with his own culture's moral compass.

And sometimes, a few people, for various reasons, ask themselves three questions.

First, how can I know that my moral compass is the right one?

Second, and if there is a right one, what's the price for changing the source of my moral compass in my culture?

Third, how do we make the best use of my newly acquired moral compass?

The Bible Compass

This website will:

  • initially show the different sources of moral compasses between cultures
  • present the Bible Compass view & reveal the consequences of choosing the wrong compass
  • reveal the benefits of the Bible Compass over other compasses.

Bible Verses About...

This website will morph into whatever it morphs into in the coming months.

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