Some of my work colleagues were hanging out a “Would you rather…” scenario the other day. Without getting into the sordid details, the basic question under consideration was “Would you rather do something morally repugnant and no one knows about it or not do that morally repugnant thing and yet everyone thinks you do, for the rest of your life?”

To my mind, the question boils down to: “Does having a clear conscience or having a good reputation matter more to you?”

My personal answer was that a clear conscience was more important to me than a good reputation. The opinion of others weighs less to me than my self-respect and the clarity of my connection with that in which I am centered. One with God is a majority. More important than the regard in which I am held by my peers is the sanctity of my relationship with that which is above me.

To be hated without cause is no cause for offense and just because offense is given, it need not be taken. The truth needs no defense. Those who are offended by their imaginations need not be judged by you; they will be judged by the working of the laws of Being. We needn’t resist evil; evil destroys itself.

Perhaps my complete answer is that I would rather not do the morally repugnant thing, so that I am comforted by the spirit of truth. I would also love my “enemies” and do good to them that hate me (or at least what they imagine me to be), because love is the ultimate power in and of the universe. Only love has the power to purify and make whole.

I would rather align myself with reality than with unreality, whatever the cost in an outward sense.

What about you?