Good--Three Times Over

For a moral decision to be "good," there are three key factors, all of which must be good.

The act itself
The intention behind the act
The circumstances of the act.

A good intention--such as wanting to help out your older brother--does not make an act that is morally wrong--such as lying to your parents to cover for him--good.

A bad intention--such as taking more credit than is due--can make an act that is good--such as helping to clean up a neighbor's yard--morally bad. (See Matthew 6:1.)

The circumstances of an act can increase or decrease the moral goodness of the act, but the circumstances cannot change whether the act is good or bad. If the act is bad, then certain circumstances might render it less bad.

Some acts are bad no matter the intention or the circumstances because they are so great an evil that they are against the natural moral law. Murder is an example.

Exercise

Bring to mind a moral decision you are currently dealing with, or have dealt with recently—something you are trying to figure out what is the right (or wrong) choice. Follow the process described here.

Act	Intention	Circumstance
Describe the act that you are dealing with.	What are your reasons for choosing this action or behavior?	What are the details surrounding it?

Take a look at what you have written. If what is written in all three boxes is good, then you have made a morally good choice. If any one of the three boxes is not good, then you have failed to make a morally good choice.