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 that it becomes 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 political spin, and the simple distortions that come from others as they speak from their limited perspective. 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. In the middle of efforts to escape abuse or violence, these persons’ consciences became seared by fear, self-hatred, and ugly words. Their actions reflect what they have come to believe.
For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide. (2 Timothy 1:7, NLT, Acts 24:16, 1 Corinthians 4:4 MSG)
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. God will guide us and help us in this work as we, one day at a time, maintain conscious contact with Him and surrender to His will.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, reveal to me any false beliefs about myself, others, and the world around me that lead to false guilt or inappropriate behaviour. Help me to reprogram my conscience and recognize truth in all my ways. Amen.
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