Wherever there is a posture of moral superiority, there will always be a lack of grace, forgiveness, and empathy. Always.

Deep breath.

This might offend you a bit. You might have a kneejerk reaction to defend the importance of morality, a firm stance for truth. But this does not in any way negate the need for the truth; it challenges each of us in how we present it and live it out. We need less moral superiority and more moral depth. Superiority towers over people. It uses intimidation. It is not conversational or engaging. It is domineering. Even when we try to be gentle with others, when we stand over them and lecture or debate with little to no emotional and empathetic dialogue, we posture ourselves to be perceived and received as arrogant and manipulative. As much as we want to be heard, we cancel people’s receptiveness to hear us. And we don’t have to literally stand over someone or raise our voices in order to assume the posture.

Our motives belie us. Our intentions and character leak through our words and demeanor. We can communicate the same truths infused with grace, forgiveness, and empathy. We can be firm while being respectful. We can strongly speak while being sensitive to others’ responses, and we can adjust appropriately—not in an effort to reach a specific goal but in a way that demonstrates the depth of our character. Because if we believe in what we are speaking, and we want to share with others, we must broaden our embrace. Truth cannot be separated from grace, forgiveness, and empathy in its purest form, because God’s character encompass them all. To separate one from another is to not speak and live his truth.

Moral superiority is poor morality. True morality is infused with humility, respect, and care.