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.
Christians 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 must deal more harshly with a Christian unwilling to hear his conscience. Also, that Christian 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.
Read also: Titus 1:4-16
Quote of the day: "There is no pillow so soft as a clear conscience.” – French proverb