MATTHEW xxii. 39.

Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Why are wrong things wrong? Why, for instance, is it wrong to steal?

Because God has forbidden it, you may answer. But is it so?
Whatsoever God forbids must be wrong. But, is it wrong because God
forbids it, or does God forbid it because it is wrong?

For instance, suppose that God had not forbidden us to steal, would
it be right then to steal, or at least, not wrong?

We must really think of this. It is no mere question of words, it is
a solemn practical question, which has to do with our every-day
conduct, and yet which goes down to the deepest of all matters, even
to the depths of God himself.

The question is simply this. Did God, who made all things, make
right and wrong? Many people think so. They think that God made
goodness. But how can that be? For if God made goodness, there
could have been no goodness before God made it. That is clear. But
God was always good, good from all eternity. But how could that be?
How could God be good, before there was any goodness made? That
notion will not do then. And all we can say is that goodness is
eternal and everlasting, just as God is: because God was and is and
ever will be eternally and always good.