Folklore advises, "Let your conscience be your guide." This has serious limitations since our conscience can be wrongly programmed by our experiences and the values of the people around us. We need to renew our conscience so it is a trustworthy mirror of the wisdom of God’s Word within us.
I do my level best to keep a clear conscience before God and my neighbors in everything I do. With Christ as my witness, I speak with utter truthfulness. My conscience and the Holy Spirit confirm it. (Acts 24:16, Romans 9:1 NLT)
From early childhood we’ve heard many twisted messages because of “fake news”, the half-truths of a political spin, and the simple distortions human beings speak from their limited perspective on life. We need to get to know truth as God has revealed it in the Bible, and sort error from truth based on God’s standard. This is a learning process which God will guide us in one day at a time as we maintain conscious contact with Him and surrender to His will.
My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide. (Acts 24:16, 1 Corinthians 4:4 MSG)
Sometimes people are incorrectly guided by false guilt which does not come from doing wrong but is a psychological guilt typically developed in early childhood. These persons’ consciences are programmed by efforts to escape abuse or violence. Their consciences became seared by fear, self-hatred, and ugly words. Their actions reflect what they have come to believe.
God wants to release us from the fear that has clouded our view of reality and damaged our conscience. Only God is wise enough to help us discern right from wrong and support us as we renew our minds with truth.
For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7 NLT)
Prayer: Heavenly Father, reveal to me false beliefs about myself that lead me into false guilt which is often called people pleasing, approval seeking, and co-dependency. Help me to reprogram my conscience and recognize truth. in all my ways. Amen.
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