An episode back from the era where prime time television tried to be moral, and in trying to be, actually often exemplified values that are in great need.
This episode features a moral lesson that money is an object. And as with all objects, it isn't the object that is good or bad, but instead what people do with it that determines its morality.
Throughout the episode the priest is torn apart inside by what he knows. A truth that on its surface seems horrible to him, but in truth is nothing more than a man using resources in a way to help the most people in the best way possible.
Objects are shown to be important only to the extent that they come to represent actions that are good. Some characters in this episode are shown as trapped in a material world, while others are torn because even though they strive for something beyond the material, think of themselves as failures because they are unable to go far enough beyond it.
At the end of the episode, the fuller truth is revealed, and people are left to consider that good deeds are what count, and objects only really have value to the extent that people use them as a moral foundation to do good. And in that profound lesson, those in this episode torn by internal questions, realize that instead, they have done the best for others that they could.
If only modern entertainment would even try to explain this -- such a moral lesson remains more necessary today than ever.
This episode features a moral lesson that money is an object. And as with all objects, it isn't the object that is good or bad, but instead what people do with it that determines its morality.
Throughout the episode the priest is torn apart inside by what he knows. A truth that on its surface seems horrible to him, but in truth is nothing more than a man using resources in a way to help the most people in the best way possible.
Objects are shown to be important only to the extent that they come to represent actions that are good. Some characters in this episode are shown as trapped in a material world, while others are torn because even though they strive for something beyond the material, think of themselves as failures because they are unable to go far enough beyond it.
At the end of the episode, the fuller truth is revealed, and people are left to consider that good deeds are what count, and objects only really have value to the extent that people use them as a moral foundation to do good. And in that profound lesson, those in this episode torn by internal questions, realize that instead, they have done the best for others that they could.
If only modern entertainment would even try to explain this -- such a moral lesson remains more necessary today than ever.
