CONSCIENCE (That Still Small Voice)
Conscience, together with intuition, are functions of the spirit. It is our direct link to God. Webster's dictionary defines it as "awareness of right and wrong." Conscience is that still small voice in our heart that says "don't" when we are about to commit an act contrary to what we perceived as God's will. In other words, what we perceived as sinful or evil in the sight of God.
Conscience can be healthy or unhealthy. A healthy conscience is one that conforms with one's perception of God's will for his life. An unhealthy conscience is one that is totally warped and steeped in denying and disobeying that still small voice in our hearts. An unhealthy conscience and an overpowering feelings of guilt and shame go hand in hand. The effects of an unhealthy conscience in one's spiritual, emotional and physical well being is catastrophic and may lead to many illnesses- mental, emotional and physical. An unhealthy conscience, side by side with that overpowering feelings of guilt and shame, may lead a person to cases of self inflicted punishments and in extreme cases, self destruction or suicide.
The sources of the still small voice before we sin, and the overpowering sense of guilt and shame after we sin, are different. The still small voice that warns us before we commit a grievous sin comes from God. The overpowering sense of guilt and shame after we commit a grievous sin does not come from God. It comes from the devil. The devil's role in inducing us to sin is dual- as tempter and as an accuser. First, he tempts us to sin, beguiling us with all sorts of mental and sensual enticements. He will whisper in our ears, "Stolen and forbidden fruits are sweet, they are so desirable. Would you not want to taste them?" After falling into his trap and sinning, he switches roles- from tempter to accuser. He will place a heavy load of guilt and shame in our hearts and will whisper these accusing words, "You are good for nothing. You disobeyed God. You abandoned Him after all the wonderful things He has done for you. You are useless now to Him. You are beyond redemption."
As the sinner listens to this accusatory voice, several evil spirits may come in and settle in his heart- the spirit of guilt and shame, the spirit of bitterness, the spirit of pride, the spirit of rebellion, the spirit of self justification, the spirit of madness, the spirit of strife and mayhem, the spirit of sickness (mental, emotional and physical), the spirit of anger and wrath, etc.
Is there no solution to this wretched state of man's unhealthy conscience? Fortunately, there is. Like the prodigal son in the Bible, we have to return to God, confess our sins and return to His divine graces and providence. 1John 1: 9 says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." Isaiah 1: 18 says, "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool."
Jesus Christ is the starting point in our journey back to the Father's fold and to a clear and unbridled conscience where we can enjoy indescribable joy in our hearts and the indwelling peace of God in our minds.
Posted by Mel Avila Alarilla
Philippines
Spiritual/Inspirational
20 comments:
It is nice to live with a healthy conscience because it brings peace of mind and can let you sleep soundly in the night. Thanks for this post brother mel. I love that verse you shared on Isaiah 1:18. Thanks for this post brother mel. God bless.
Hi Meretrisha,
You're welcome my sister in Christ. It is so easy to have a clear conscience and avoid those feelings of guilt and fear if we just accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior. Not only do we acquire a clear conscience, we also attain eternal life. Thanks for your visit and comments. God bless you all always.
hmmm ma examine nga if i have that small voice in my mind. I think i have even if sometimes i dont listen to but eventually my conscience wins in every bad decision that i am about to make. kaya nga andito pa ako sa mundong ibabaw hehehehe lalim dun ahh. thanks for the wonderful post Sir. Mel.
Good article. Good deep thoughts. I know that we are all born with a spark of God in us, and that is our conscience, our desire for justice that displays itself even before we can talk. Another child takes our toy away, we cry because it's not fair. The Holy Spirit is also a guide for us. He leads, teaches, nudges you to repent when you have done wrong, comforts when you do repent or when you are needing comfort in any way.
It's an interesting concept. I never thought of the Holy Spirit and the conscience as being the same thing before. I thought of the conscience as something already put in us at birth, and the Holy Spirit as a gift we receive later, when we profess our belief and faith in the Lord.
Like awalkthroughlife said, it is good to have a healthy dose of conscience, but too often, (mostly women) have such a harsh and strong conscience that they beat themselves up for every imperfection. That's when Satan uses our conscience against us. We are then more cruel to ourselves than we would be to enemies. We need a healthy balance. Moderation in all things.Scriptures say faith can be a 2 edged sword, it can do good and it can do damage. Very thought-provoking, Mel! Bless you and your family!
Thank you Mel Alarilla for this wonderful post. When I let the devil take control, I start to worry about what people might think or say about me in a negative way. Thanks to our Lord Jesus; I'm told that I only need to be accountable to God.
God bless you Mel Alarilla!!!
Hi Shy,
We all have consciences. Some are clear others are blurry. It depends on how we react to the dictates of our consciences. Thanks for your visit and comments. God bless you all always.
Hi Shiela,
May I make a correction in your comments lest a theologian or a graduate of Bible College correct me in this. I never said that the Holy Spirit and conscience are one and the same. That would be theologically wrong and untenable. What I said is that conscience and intuition are functions of the spirit (our spirit) but it is true that the Holy Spirit uses our conscience to warn us against sinning. But continuous disregard of this still small voice reduces our conscience to a hardening of the heart or a blurry conscience, one that substitute their own inner voice for the voice of God. We have to be prayerful and grounded to the word of God by reading the Bible everyday otherwise, we may be misled by a spirit of deception masquerading itself as an angel of light. Doing the will of God in our life enables us to maintain a clear conscience. Thanks for your visit and comments. God bless you always.
Thank you Mel Alarilla for this post, reading this post helped me a lot!!!
God bless you!!!
Hi Lon,
Yes, we are all accountable to God and to no one else. At the end of our temporary life here on earth, we will be giving an accounting to the Lord for everything we have done on earth while alive. Thus it is imperative that we listen and obey our conscience. Thanks for your visit and comments. God bless you all always.
Hi Lon,
You're welcome. Thanks again for your visit and comments. God bless you all always.
Bakit nahihirapan akong mag-comment at nagiging error ....mahaba pa naman ang comment ko.
Anyway, if we are in line and in agreement with God's Word and His laws, whenever we sin and are tempted, our conscience is rebuked by the Holy Spirit.
But we must be careful to determine if our guilty conscience is motivated by our fear of getting into more trouble and shame , or if our guilty conscience is from the Holy Spirit , in fear of displeasing and disobeying God.
Hi Bingkee,
Sorry about that. Sometimes Blogger.com encounters technical problems. You may have encountered one of them. If we walk in the will of God and is sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, then we will surely have a clear conscience. But if we continuously disregard the convictions of the Holy Spirit, then our hearts will harden and we will lose that still small voice. It is like wandering in the desert on our own without any road map. Thanks for your visit and comments. God bless you all always.
How come I only hear that voice when I've done something wrong hehehe. I guess, it goes to show that I am human eh?
It is always good to go confession so those feeling of guilt will come away. Praying fervently does avoid that too. It's hard for me to do it too since I am so preoccupied.
ohh.. i haven't thought of it that way before. i haven't considered that the 'tormenting' feelings of guilt could have come from the devil. but now that you mentioned it, i think i understand why 'that feeling' leads to 'self destruction' and eventually 'death'
I sleep soundly every night and I seldom have dreams,both good and bad. Does it mean I have a healthy conscience?
Hi Rose,
Yes, all of us are human and we hear that small voice as it warns us against doing something against God's will. What is dangerous is when we do not hear anything even if we commit a sin. Thanks for your visit and comments. God bless you all always.
Hi MelCole,
Whatever your methods are, it is great to always have a clear conscience that you carry everyday. You avoid negative emotions and a gulit feeling because of that. Thanks for your visit and comments. God bless you all always.
Hi Rossel,
Hmm, not necessarily. You can answer that question more accurately by yourself. You know if you are walking in the will of the Lord and you have no qualms about meeting Him, that will surely give you a steady and healthy conscience. Thanks for your visit and comments. God bless you all always.
Hi Kim,
The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin so that we can repent and return to God. The devil accuses us of sin and beguile us to recourse to destructive measures. It is best to distinguish clearly where that voice is coming from since the devil masquerades as an angel of light to deceive us. Thanks for your visit and comments. God bless you all always.
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