Read: Titus
1:4-16
Unto the
pure all things are pure: but
unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.
Titus 1:15
My dad
owned an Invisible Fence dealership in Northwest Indiana for over twenty-five
years. Needless to say, I helped him on a countless number of occasions. An
invisible fence is a pet containment system designed to keep pets from leaving
the yard. A wire, connected to a transmitter in the garage, is buried around
the perimeter of the property. The transmitter sends a signal through the wire
that is detected by the receiver that the dog wears on its collar. When the dog
gets too close to the wire, he is given a short series of warning beeps. If the
dog disregards the warning, two prongs extending from the receiver deliver a
static shock that grabs the dog’s attention and makes it jump back into the
yard. That is exactly the way your conscience is supposed to work (without the
electrical shock, of course). When you are tempted to sin, your conscience
speaks up and gives the warning not to do it. When you ignore your conscience
and sin anyway, you face the punishment for that sin.
Dogs react to the invisible fence in many
different ways. Some dogs don’t listen to the warning beep and decide to run
through the fence. Those that do have to be dealt with by making the shock in
their receivers stronger. Some dogs feel it is worth the pain of the shock as
long as they can get out of the yard to chase the temptation that lured them
away. What the dog who is trying to escape doesn’t realize is that his owner’s
intention is not to keep the dog from having fun, but to protect it from
dangers it doesn’t even know are out there. The owner is trying to keep the dog
from getting hit by a car or from being threatened by other dangers.
Christian young men have many different
responses to their consciences, as well. Some tune out the voice of their
conscience as it is trying to pull them from temptation. That is a dangerous
choice because God often has to deal more harshly with a young man unwilling to
hear his conscience. Also, that young man is in danger of rejecting his
conscience to the point that it no longer bothers him when he is about to sin.
1 Timothy 4:2 says of some in the last days that their “conscience is seared
with a hot iron.” An equally harmful choice is to deliberately sin, even knowing
that punishment is coming. Leaving the safety of righteousness to intentionally
pursue a temptation can only lead to destruction and heartache.
The Holy Spirit uses our conscience to protect
us and keep us on the right path. Make a conscious effort to obey your
conscience when you are warned to stay away from a temptation.
Quote of
the day: “There is no pillow so soft as a clear conscience.” – French proverb
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