I believe in a concept I call "moral maturity." That is the ability look beyond one's immediate situation and make consisitant descisions in your own long-term self interest and the interests of those you care about.
If you lie and cheat, you may get ahead in the short term, but the longer term result of your actions is that people will not trust you, you won't do as well in your career and you won't have quality friends. So being trustworthy and true to your word will get you further in the long term.
Another principle I live by is to imagine the world you'd like to live in, and live as closley as practical as if you live in that world. I'd like a world where you can trust everyone, where you don't need looks on your doors, where everyone takes responsibility for their lives and actions.
Well, since I don't live in the world, I do lock my doors. But I can still live my life and treat others as I did live in that world, and pick friends who live the same way.
The problem with morals derived from God is that not everyone agrees on exactly how God wants people to live. By definition, anything that God asks of you is moral, and history is full of examples of people who believe that God had instructed them to lie, cheat and commit violence against others.
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Originally Posted by QuasiMondo
I base my morality on three things:
1. Is what I am doing (or about to do) necessary for me to reach my goal?
2. Do I have the means (financially, physically, etc.) to carry out my intentions?
3. Is there a high risk in being caught and punished for what I do? If the risk is great, does the reward outweigh it?
If you cannot answer 'yes' to all three questions, then chances are that you will not commit the crime/sin/whatever.
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If you had the opportunity to steal something you wanted with a very low probability of getting caught, would you do it? If your definition of sin is not derived from religion, then what makes it a sin, if you're not going to get caught & punished?