Is Saying No a Virtue?

Have you ever noticed how saying “No” sounds so virtuous, so righteous? No matter what we’re saying it to, it has that ring of virtue when someone declares, “Oh, I never…”

Most recently, it struck me with, “I would never use AI for anything.” But I’ve heard it so many times before, about so many things.

“I never eat _____” Meat, gluten, sugar.

“I would never own a gun.”

“I never use the clothes dryer; I hang my laundry on the line.”

And each of these comes with moral statements: It’s unhealthy, guns kill people, it’s a waste of energy.

All these things are true…but are they really moral judgments? Does God mind if I eat a steak or a piece of bread or a slice of cake? Pretty sure He doesn’t. Does God mind if I own a gun? As someone who lives in a community of hunters and who grew up eating the food my dad put on our table thanks to his rifle, I’m gonna say no. And is my Lord shaking His divine head at me because laundry day is Saturday, rain or shine, so that the rest of my week can be dedicated to other things? Again, I have never once felt like He was judging me for it.

But I’ve sure felt judged by people.

There are so many sins we need to say “No” to. Paul gives us some pretty thorough lists in Galatians and Romans, for starters: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of rage, rivalries, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, injustice, depravity, greed, evil, envy, murder, bickering, lies, meanness, gossip, slander, hatred of God, insults, pride, disobedience to parents, senselessness, faithlessness, heartlessness, ruthlessness.

Can food or guns or technology (from dryers to AI) lead us into sin? Absolutely.

Are the things themselves sins? Absolutely not.

Years ago, I wrote an article here called “Not a Virtue,” and it’s something I’ve been thinking about ever since. Because we put value judgments on EVERYTHING. Including things that are NOT VIRTUES. Being outside rather than inside is not a virtue. Getting a tan or not is not a virtue. Your laundry choices are not a virtue. Even reading a book instead of watching television is not a virtue. In that post, I ask myself this:

What else have I mistaken as a virtue that isn’t? What do I pursue, thinking it a Good, when it is at best a “good,” but most likely just a thing? Where do I have my eyes fixed on the earthly, where they should be fixed on the heavenly?

I go through my particular examples–reading, political views, tanning (seriously, LOL), spending time outdoors. And then settle here:

I’m sure there are many other places that I need to separate “enjoyable” or “worthwhile” from truly VIRTUOUS, and it’s something I’ve begun keeping an eye out for. Because plenty of things really are worthwhile and can enrich our lives and our faith…but if we apply that “virtuous” label to them, then we think they’re good for everyone, because virtues ARE. But these things are NOT on that level. They can be good, yes…but they are not required for all. They can be good without being virtuous.

After the discussion on AI after I posted My AI Policy two weeks ago, I was reminded of how this issue has a flipside–not only do we equate things with virtues that have no moral implications in and of themselves, but we also equate things with evil that have no moral implications in and of themselves.  So we think saying no to them is righteous.

My friends, we need to be careful with this…because this does lead us into sin. It leads us into slander and gossip; it leads us into strife and rivalries and fits of rage. It leads us into dissensions and factions and meanness–and lies. Do you know how many authors have been witch-hunted and ruined because of the accusation (not proof, just accusation) of using AI in their books? When quite often they can prove they didn’t–but no one cares about that?

It has to stop. Not just in this topic, but in so many. We as humanity get so set on what we think is good and not good, taking the decisions we’ve made for ourselves and applying those definitions to everyone, that we completely lose sight of the real goal. We create toxic environments more about holding people to our standards than holding people to God’s standards. More about judging than encouraging each one to stretch themselves out toward God in the way He calls them and draws them.

In that AI conversation two weeks ago (and in the last two years), I quite often hear authors I respect saying they use AI in ways I wouldn’t. And yeah, my first thought is, “Ugh. I don’t know about that.” But I don’t have to. My job is to remain true to what God calls ME to. No one else. Because you know what? There were plenty of authors a few decades ago who swore they’d never use a computer and insisted the more tactile typewriter was superior in every way–and sometimes some people turned it into a value judgment. But it isn’t. And before that, in the age when typewriters came on the scene? People thought using them took the soul out of writing.

Did it? Does my writing have no soul because I’m not doing it by hand, on paper? I obviously don’t think so. And given that you’re reading this very-much-written-on-a-computer little essay and may even enjoy my novels (which are 100% typed, I am not one of those people who write anything by hand–my typing speed can almost keep up with my brain, but my handwriting cannot!), I will assume you don’t think so either.

But in the late 19th century? People were adamant. They were convinced. They judged each other. 

Now we look at it and shake our heads.

And that’s what bothers me most about these arguments about AI lately. Yes, there are reasonable, legitimate concerns, and they need to be addressed. But I’ve seen statements about how “no good can come of it” because of X, Y, or Z. (Stealing, environmental concerns, displacing human artists.) And I just want to say to us all (myself included), be careful. Be careful telling God he can’t bring good out of something you don’t like. Be careful calling out the new example when we’re perfectly fine with the old one. 

Because there’s nothing new under the sun–even when it comes to advances in technology. People have always stolen. People have always rushed industry without concern for environment. People have always displaced human workers with new technology. Those things are bad, yes. But they’re not beyond redemption. And if we tossed out every advancement that ever caused something like that…well, we’d be back in the Dark Ages.

We need to remember that our no does not need to be a universal no. I absolutely respect someone who will not own a gun because they knew someone killed by a gunshot. Their feelings make all the sense in the world, as does the line they draw. But hunting fed my family growing up–so it’s not a line I share. The thing is not the good or the evil. It’s how we use it.

It’s always how we use it. And it’s more than that–it’s how our hearts incline. Toward God, first and foremost. And to each other. Are we viewing those whose views differ from ours with love…or with judgment? If you’re a proponent for something, do you scoff at those with concerns? If you have concerns, do you judge as immoral those who don’t?

Is that what God asks of you?

We need to identify the problems, the issues, the moral implications of everything we do, YES. And then we need to address them. Doing so doesn’t require eliminating the things people are misusing. When Jesus tells us to cut off our hand or pluck out our eye lest we sin, He is addressing us, our tendencies, not the things we use to sin. He doesn’t say to kill the beautiful person lest you lust after them or to banish food stalls lest you’re tempted to steal a piece of fruit or to melt down swords lest you kill someone with them.

Sin begins in us. Not outside. Virtue begins in us. Not outside. The things, my friends, are just things. We can use them or misuse them or abuse them.

And as always, we need to remember that calling out sin with the wrong heart leads us straight into it ourselves. The Pharisees were zealous for the law because they saw the consequences of failing to keep it and said, “Never again.” And then imposed their rules on others. God loves when we’re zealous for Him…but not when we turn it into persecution of others.

I pray that we can all remember that–I know I need the reminder. When it comes to politics, when it comes to AI, when it comes to…everything. Because we love to turn everything into a moral, ethical judgment. But sometimes all we’re accomplishing is hardening our hearts and drifting farther away from His love.