5 Morality and Life Lessons That Are Better Than What Is In The Bible

As an Atheist I see this dumb argument all the time. “How can you have morals without the bible?” And when people say this I have to be completely honest. I can’t think of a single moral lesson that guides me in life that I got from a religious text. I went to Sunday School my whole young life, but when I think about the concept of Right and Wrong it is not God I turn to. Usually it’s comic book super heroes. I never thought “What Would Jesus Do?” I thought “What Would Superman Do?” “What Would Batman Do?” Neither of these individuals led a life due to a fear of eternal punishment in some afterlife but because they had a inner sense of what is right. And so I decided to look at several lessons I have learned that are more important and/or better told than what is in the Bible.

1.)  “With Great Power, Comes Great Responsibility.” Spider-Man

The legendary words that appear at the end of Amazing Fantasy #15 have become synonymous with the idea of being a super hero. Although they are specifically attributed to Spider-Man, they have been referenced by many a super hero. Spider-Man, aka Peter Parker, learned this harsh lesson when he refused to stop a petty criminal who would later go on to murder his beloved Uncle. It would have been easy enough for him to do so with his amazing abilities but he felt such action was beneath him. And he paid a price for that arrogance. But it shouldn’t take a horrific death to motivate one to do the right thing when they can. When we see something we disagree with we should speak up. When we see someone who needs help, we should help them. We all have great power, and therefore we all have great responsibility.

2.)  “Do or Do Not. There is No Try.”  Star Wars

Those words are spoken by Yoda when Luke Skywalker says he will try to lift his X-Wing out of the swamp with the Force. Luke gives up thinking the task is too hard and the X-Wing sinks further into the swamp. Moments later Yoda successfully lifts the X-Wing out of the swamp. Where Luke quit, Yoda did not and thus was able to succeed at his task. Perseverance is the key to success. You can’t just “try” to do something. You need to do it. Put all your effort into a goal until it is complete. All that matters is whether or not you accomplish your goal.

3.)  “I think I can.” The Little Engine that Could

Another good bit of motivational advice. The Little Engine that Could was always underestimated for his size. He even underestimated himself. But a little confidence and commitment and that train was able to get the job done. Always believe in yourself. It seems like an obvious life lesson but too often in life we can forget to believe in our own skills. The world tells us we can’t accomplish something and we believe it. But the truth is you need to think you can. No matter what. Even after that

4.)   “Don’t lie.” The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Forget being threatened with entire hellfire if you lie, how about just being mauled to death by a giant wolf. That was the fate for the boy in the story. He cried wolf once and all the villagers came running. Cried it twice and all the villagers came running. But when a wolf finally came and the boy cried no one came and he was eaten. That seems like a pretty simple lesson to me. Don’t lie. Because when you lie you damage your own credibility and no one will believe you when you finally tell the truth. Now it may not be a wolf coming to eat you that you are trying to tell the truth about. But still, why take the chance. Your ability to tell the truth could be the only thing that saves your life some day. Just don’t lie. Once your credibility is tarnished it is tarnished for good.

5.)     “Try New Things.” Green Eggs and Ham

Sometimes people can be stubborn. We get stuck in routines, we get burned by new experiences, all sorts of things keep us from reaching out and trying something new. Regardless of the circumstances in which we are exposed to them. Not in a box, not with a fox (though to be fair, trying to enjoy a meal with a live fox is something one should probably avoid. They can be dangerous). In all truth, there are a lot of good moral lessons in the works of Dr. Seuss but the lesson of Green Eggs and Ham seems the most important. We live in a big wide world and need to appreciate it. But we can’t if we simply refuse to ever expose ourselves to anything new.