People in the society are frequently confronted with ethical dilemmas, and it is important for every individual to prepare for the eventuality of learning how to apply ethical principles. Three circumstances must be existent for a given situation to be deliberated as a moral dilemma. The leading condition takes place when a person referred to as an agent needs to decide the best course of action. The second situation is that diverse courses of action to pick from must be present (Wachs, 2018). Finally, no matter what course of action is in use there must be some ethical values that are conceded in the process. The objective of this paper is to assess performance enhancing drugs as an ethical issue and come up with possible solutions for the ethical situation through using Christian values as a guideline to find a better solution.
Ethical Dilemma
Paul is a young athlete that has dreams to take his talent to another level the manner in which he has been working hard at the gym and the field (Mitra " McCormick, 2017). The work hard is apparent since he has managed to be on the first team. However, Paul has realised that some members of his teammates have been using the performance-enhancing substance to boost their performance in the field. The coach informed Paul that some changes might take place and he may no longer be part of the first team (Mitra " McCormick, 2017). Paul is faced with an ethical dilemma in that he is confused if he should start using the substances to retain his starting position in the team or completely turn down the sample of the drug offered by a friend and see himself dropped by the coach. Indeed, Paul is in a difficult ethical dilemma since the coach who is the head of the team is well aware that his team is using the substance and has not stepped forward as a leader to denounce the act. Besides, both the team members and the coach take refuge in the fact that the drug is not a banned substance because it is not widely known and there is a slim chance that any drug test available cannot trace the drug. Therefore, the coach encourages its use by turning a blind eye to what is going even though it is against the sports values and Christian principles (Mitra " McCormick, 2017).
The first approach for resolving the scenario is dependent on Paul as a player and a Christian. By consulting the Christian principles, Paul must be aware that by accepting the drug he is going against the spiritual values and by ignoring the whole thing together and keeping quiet is also not in order. Therefore, he must confront his team members and talk to them concerning the long-term implications of the substance at the moment it will be discovered to be performance enhancer substance. The second option is to talk to the coach as a leader of the team and let him know that it is better to be a winner than a champion because being a winner is permanent as long as you take the right approach and a champion is temporary because one becomes comfortable with the state.
Core Beliefs
The core beliefs of Christianity that are relevant to the situation are that people are not supposed to cheat as in the case of the team members of Paul. Besides, one is not supposed to encourage cheating the way the coach who should act as an example is doing. By abiding by this worldview and commitments, the players are likely to have guilty conscious when they are about to use the substance or the same can happen to the coach as a leader of the team and suspend the members of the team who are using the substance and this will act as an example to other players who may want to use in future (Wachs, 2018).
Resolution
In Christianity, it is important to take everything back to the Lord, and in coming up with a resolution of this particular dilemma, one needs to seek spiritual guidance from the book of Corinthians (Edwards " Addae, 2015). The book poses a question asking if the activity that one is undertaking can edify themselves or any other person in the society or does the activity bring glory to the name of God. By assessing these sentiments, a person in the scenario would realise that whatever is happening while he is watching is not right and should talk it over by the team members and the coach and if the trend persists is when he should approach higher authority in the quest for an amicable solution (Edwards " Addae, 2015). However, the best course of action as a Christian is to first seek guidance from the Lord through praying and praying for the team members to realise that whatever they are doing is not right. Afterwards, do not use the drugs and work hard to prove to the coach and team members that one can still perform without the substances (Edwards " Addae, 2015).
Evaluation
The unintended consequences of the proposed solution are that it may take time for the coach and the team members to realise that having faith in oneself and standing out from the crowd in pursuing what is right and Godly is the right path for humanity (Shapiro " Stefkovich, 2016). However, the perceived benefits are that the act is likely to save the team from being banned later when the substance will be discovered by a drug test that will be available, and this is an indication that their reputation will still be upheld. The people who test the substance are well conversant with the fact that players and coaches come up with new tricks and substances every day to help them win the matches. Therefore, they continuously conduct research, and there is a possibility that they will expose the substance in future (Shapiro " Stefkovich, 2016).
Comparison
Christian worldview resolution is significant in solving such dilemmas in that the approach is moderate and no party is destroyed or affected, and if they are affected, they are given a chance to realise that what they did was wrong and they are given an opportunity to transform. That is not the case with the contrasting worldview such as atheism that is individual centred and has no time to take all the possibilities into account hence giving out a one-sided or incomplete resolution (Floridi, 2016).
Conclusion
From the discussion, it is clear that ethical dilemma is a hard nut to crack precisely if one fails to approach it in the Christian perspective. The situation that Paul is facing is just an example of ethical dilemmas that people face daily. What is important is that people should be aware that these situations exist and they will continue facing them. However, going back to the scriptures and praying to the Lord for any situation is critical because human or even science cannot solve some situations, but the spiritual approach can solve what may seem to be impossible in the eyes of human beings.
References
Edwards, B., " Addae, R. (2015). Ethical decision-making models in resolving ethical dilemmas in rural practice: Implications for social work practice and education. Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics, 12(1), 88-92.
Floridi, L. (2016). Tolerant paternalism: Pro-ethical design as a resolution of the dilemma of toleration. Science and engineering ethics, 22(6), 1669-1688.
Mitra, D., " McCormick, P. (2017). Ethical dilemmas of youth participatory action research in a democratic setting. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 21(3), 248-258.
Shapiro, J. P., " Stefkovich, J. A. (2016). Ethical leadership and decision making in education: Applying theoretical perspectives to complex dilemmas. Routledge.
Shultz, C. (2015). The ethical imperative of constructive engagement in a world confounded by the commons dilemma, social traps, and geopolitical conflicts. Handbook on ethics in marketing, 188-219.
Wachs, M. (2018). Ethical dilemmas in forecasting for public policy. In Classics Of Administrative Ethics (pp. 102-114). Routledge.
