The old saying goes, “Let your conscience be your guide”. Your conscience is developed by your environment: by what your parents and schoolmates taught you, by your religious convictions, your superstitions, etc. The Holy Spirit can and should play a role in that, but many don’t listen to that still small voice. A story from The Philadelphia Inquirer illustrates this problem.

A 12-year old boy was caught stealing a watch. He told police that previously he had shoplifted a gift for his mother, and he felt he had to do the same for his dad.

His conscience convicted him about not slighting his father, but he had no difficulty stealing what belonged to another. There is a problem with this picture. His conscience was working, but his value system had tainted his conscience.

The only way to have a pure conscience is to know God’s value system as it is outlined in the Bible, and then live by that value system, regardless of how we feel about it. Let’s adjust our conscience.

When have you seen this tainted conscienceness work in someone’s life?

Tags: conscience, values