Are there ethics that should apply to our writing?

A school teacher has an ethical approach to her teaching. We could call it her PHILOSOPHY of teaching. Written or not, she acts out her philosophy over and over again, the EVIDENCE found in the MOMENTS that make up a school day. As a teacher myself, I respect the individual and his or her right to her own choices. I commit to EXCELLENCE in providing lessons aimed that the student’s academic success.

I remember how my professors insisted I write out my philosophy for TEACHING ENGLISH. I had to answer questions such as:

How will my students learn to speak fluently?
From whom will they learn social cues?
Will the students construct their vocabulary definition by definition or by “accident?”

I labored over that “philosophy” assignment for weeks and have been TESTING it out ever since.

Recently, in my Bible reading, I came across some verses that instruct me HOW to show God’s love and truth to others. Romans 12 tells us to exercise our gifts and talents. A paraphrase reads like this:

Deliberately—Carefully—Simply—Liberally—With zeal—With singleness of mind
—In love—In sincerity—In proportion to my faith

I am drawn to this list as a way of expressing my PHILOSOPHY of WRITING. As a personal historian and as a mentor for other writers, I understand that a firm philosophy will guide me in my writing habits and choices. My motive for any project should be to write out of love, and to proceed forward in a careful, deliberate way. As I write about the ways God worked in my life over the past decades, or start new projects for others, I want to do it in faith, believing that God will use it to help another traveler on the road to his Destination.