The Titans of Consequence and Intention

I recently watched the film Titanic and I find myself somewhat devastated by the recent events with the deceased members off the Titan submersible. Search and Rescue searched the depths of the ocean for days in the hope that they could find the sub only to find that it had been destroyed days before and that their efforts had been in vain from the outset. The consequences of their decision to search for survivors is the realisation of tragedy. It saddens me that some people seem to think that these Search and Rescue heroes have wasted their time and tax-payers' money.

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I've also read reviews of Titanic, and a common observation is that, had not Rose stayed in the lifeboat, then Jack would have had enough room on the wardrobe to be saved. It's easy to say that with hindsight, and of course that is a very reasonable observation to make based on the events in the film. Those who make such an observation are missing something important. Both Jack and Rose in that time together have held on to the rule, “if you jump, I jump.” It's a rule that defines their relationship throughout the film that they are in this together sink or swim literally. We have to be careful here, because the outcome itself doesn't matter. The outcome is that Jack dies and Rose lives. Those are the consequences of the actions. Those are the consequences of " if you jump, I jump” but, as the theme song says, their hearts go on. The love that Jack and Rose have for each other which has grown throughout the tale has the character of Eternity and taps into the glory of being human and being alive. There is more to their experience than the dreadful tragedy that unfolds and the tale ends with Rose passing gently in her bed to be reunited with Jack in the great afterlife.

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What is especially resonating for the Christian here, is that it is never the consequences that have the final say. It is not just the consequences that determine whether an action is good or bad. Our actions are weighed by their intention more than the consequences. Throughout Holy Scripture we have people doing the right thing for the wrong reasons, for example the Pharisees. They hold the law so that they can be seen to hold the law and be praised for it. We see even good men like Abraham make questionable decisions, such as passing his wife off as his sister in order to save both their lives from a perceived threat that isn't actually there.

Actions are weighed in Eternity by our intentions, and our intention should always be measured against the word of almighty God. It is our intentions that come before the consequences, and we can never fully anticipate what the consequences will be. Consequentialism is not a valid moral theory on the grounds that we cannot see what the consequences will be. Good actions may have far reaching bad consequences. We can bake a cake for an poor, elderly person to celebrate her 80th birthday only to find later that her youngest niece has died from an anaphylactic reaction to the nuts that we used to bake our cake. The kindness intended is not obliterated by the tragic consequences.

The Christian duty to obey the Government is indeed a duty with its roots in Holy Scripture. If the Government issues a law which is truly unjust then the Christian should refuse to obey and willingly accept the consequences. If the Government imposes an order on its subjects that is not unjust then it should be obeyed even if the consequences are tragic because the Christian obeys the Government for the love of God. Like Jack and Rose, a good society says, “If you jump, I jump” or, perhaps more pertinently, “one for all and all for one”. To decide whether a law is unjust or not requires careful consideration and measuring against the full weight of Catholic teaching. If we know the mind of Christ well then we are in a better position to make that judgment.

The Christian needs very carefully to consider the intentions and why they follow the course of action that they do. It is only by living a life in God, acquiring the mind of Christ, that we know what is good. To focus on consequences alone misses the point. Consequences that we see in this life are earthly, they will pass away, and they will be rectified in the great final judgement of God who will make all things new. To sneer at those whose well-intentioned actions have had unfortunate consequences is the mark of one who misses the point of worship because they hold the consequences of this world to be of greater value than acquiring the mind of Christ on the grounds that they are more immediate. To shout, “I was right and you were wrong” whether in triumph or not does nothing to demonstrate Christian love but rather belies a bitterness of soul that requires healing from the Divine Master.

The fruit of the Spirit is grown not from consequences but from the exercise of love from the intentions made. Generosity cannot be grown from a heart that is made bitter with “I told you so”s but rather from a heart that is prepared to embrace the tragedy of another’s actions in Faith, Hope and Love. The remembrance of the consequences of our actions will pass away, but those three remain and we know which is the greatest of the three.