Issue 14 - Vertical or Horizontal Morality: What Should be Our Guide?
Published 01/15/2026
Happy New Year friends!
It is hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that 2025 is over. I do not know about you, but years pass a little more quickly than they did when I was a child. In days past, it took forever for a holiday or birthday to arrive – for milestones of life to come and go. Not any longer. Days fly by. Maybe I am thinking about things more, watching life’s clock less.
At any rate, 2026 is here.
Last month, we explored compassion and its relationship to empathy. I argued that both are central to the expression of Christianity – to life as Jesus lived it – to the life He expects us to live as believers. I wrapped up December’s issue with illustrations of compassion in the Christmas story. If I say so myself, it was a tidy ending that clearly made my point.
Let us be honest, tidy endings are for movies. In life, there is always tomorrow – always the next decision – always another step. The same is true with the Christmas story. We leave Jesus in the manger, His parents, and hosts of others (people, angels, animals) around Him. Yes, it is neat, but it is not over. We know that His life and ministry were just beginning.
Christmas is a time of thirty-thousand-foot views of faith – of exceeding gladness for God’s gift, lovely music, smiles from strangers, and atypically kind hearts. That is over. We are left with a bit of a quandary. What to do with Jesus – His life – His story? Are we to live into His calling and transform, albeit little by little, to His likeness? Or, are we to be satisfied with our faith, or worse still, present His story to others punitively/transactionally – demanding a faith that looks and sounds like our expectations?
The New Year feels like the starting gate of a race. We look ahead, hoping we will run well. We even set new resolutions to guide our steps – I heard recently that New Year’s resolutions typically last until day nine of the year! Well, I am about to fire that starter’s pistol – are you ready?
For the next 12 months, each Refiner’s Fire issue will offer a challenging Bible verse or series of verses that support the month’s focus. This month’s verses are from Mathew.
Verse Focus – Matthew 25: 34-40 34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
Vertical or Horizontal Morality
Guys, it happened again. I was minding my own business, and I came across an article that impacted me profoundly. The paper, by Caroline Bologna (2025), questioned why some Christians struggle with Jesus’s teaching about empathy, compassion, and social justice. I must admit, for the past decade, I too have struggled here – that should be obvious if you have followed this newsletter.
What is morality? Oxford Languages suggests that the noun “morality” represents a system of principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong. These principles can be held personally or by society at large. For Christians, morality is guided by Christ. That is, Jesus’s words and actions should inform our moral system.
Then what is vertical and horizontal morality? These terms were new to me until last week. Caroline Bologna’s article described vertical morality as a moral code from an external superior who dictates what must be followed by others. This superior can be God or God’s designee, such as a political or societal figure. In vertical morality, those under a moral code must follow it no matter the cost. Jeremy Hall of Baptist News Global (2024) says vertical morality “directs our attention, will, and allegiance to something above us – a cause, an ideal, a nation, a leader, a tradition, our religion, or our God.” If some are hurt in pursuit of a vertical moral code, so be it. Vertical morality has been associated with right-wing Christian philosophy and actions.
Horizontal morality prioritizes the well-being of our neighbors, communities, and personal relationships. It motivates actions that minimize harm for those around us, regardless of those individuals’ actions and beliefs. Whereas one operating from a vertical moral code helps another because God or God’s designee wants them to, a person who acts within a horizontal moral structure helps because help is needed. A horizontal moral code has been tied to the more left-wing practice of Christianity.
Enough about right and left. How do these concepts instruct our daily lives as Christians? Jeremy Hall (mentioned above) gives guidance using the Christmas story. He notes that Christ’s birth is the merging of vertical and horizontal morality. Emmanuel, God with us, is the story of Christmas. Creator God, distant God, becomes God in flesh – Jesus. God of the vertical domain becomes God of the everyday – the horizontal. To quote Hall, “In Jesus, our vertical commitments are intertwined with our horizontal ones. If we are to be obedient to God, that obedience flows through the way we interact with the people around us.” This is particularly evident in Mark 12:30-31. After the requirement to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, Jesus says, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” We could read this as loving God is integrally tied to loving others.
Vertical morality, taken to its logical end, provides cover for not loving and responding to others. The vertical believer can “rest easy” in the assumption that their lack of response to those who do not look, love, or pray like them follows God’s moral law, condemning immoral behavior. They may even extend this argument to following leaders whose actions in no way resemble Christ on the grounds that they are ordained by God. On both accounts, vertical believers are misguided. Jesus, God with us, shares a different calling.
This month’s target verses in Matthew illustrate our combined vertical and horizontal moral calling. Feeding the hungry, caring for the thirsty, providing for the stranger, clothing the naked, treating the sick, and visiting the prisoner is what is expected of us. Jesus says doing these things for others is doing them for Him. Our vertical calling, serving Christ, becomes inextricably intertwined with the horizontal, serving others.
Why do we struggle? This seems so cut and dried. Maybe we are just too comfortable in our lives, our routines that shield us from the pain of the world. Maybe those biases about race, sexual orientation, and culture, mentioned in other issues, raise their ugly heads to discourage our actions on the grounds that they are undeserved. Maybe we elect to take the vertical cover of a vengeful God to ignore or actively dismiss the plights of others. I need God’s fire here, what about you?
Where to Go from Here?
We can do better. I hate to say it, but Christianity has become a dirty word to so many. Instead of being known for His love, His kindness, and inclusiveness, Christians are known for moral stances that isolate, condemn, and in no way reflect God’s love. It is hard to sell a product when it has no appeal. Simply put, if you were not a believer, would the present public face of Christianity be attractive?
I can hear many of you now – “Bill, we have to have a moral stand, we can’t just follow the world’s current.” That is not what I am asking of you. I am simply saying let God manage the judging. In my book, Mean Christianity, I use a baseball illustration by saying I am not behind the plate. God is quite capable of calling the balls and strikes; I just need to feed the hungry, care for the thirsty, provide for the stranger, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, treat the sick, and visit the prisoner. I’ll go as far as saying we also need to follow others in this world who do and promote the same.
Where are we to go? May I suggest some New Year’s reflection – time with God about your actions in the year to come. I’ll be doing this myself as well. God bless you all!
Closing Prayer
God, with your help, we can do better. Elevate the needs of others in our minds and hearts. Help us to boldly act in the year ahead. Amen.
