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PROGRAM D-8426
Does everybody have a conscience? The dictionary says a conscience is the “sense of what is right and wrong in one’s conduct or motives, impelling one toward right action.” But do you think everyone has a conscience like that?
The thing is, we know that we can ignore our consciences. Unfortunately, I can think of times in my life when I’ve ignored what my conscience was telling me. I knew the difference in right and wrong, but that conscious knowledge did not cause me to do the right thing. Also, your conscience can be corrupted so that it no longer performs this important function. Paul wrote to Titus, “To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted” (Titus 1:15).
Furthermore, our consciences are not necessarily foolproof guides because we can deceive ourselves, be deceived, or simply lack understanding. Paul also said, “My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me” (1 Corinthians 4:4). He recognized that his conscience wasn’t always trustworthy and the Lord always has the last word.
So, yes, everybody has a conscience, but it may or may not be operative, or it may or may not operate correctly. As Christ-followers we need to keep our consciences on the right track, the biblical track—and this means our consciences should be controlled by God’s Spirit within us. In his appearance before Felix the Governor, Paul said “So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man” (Acts 24:16). And his exhortation to Timothy was that he would keep “holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith” (1 Timothy 1:19).
Problems arise, however, when you have an overly active conscience. Would that describe you? An overly active conscience is one that is out of control to some degree, and one that keeps you in bondage to guilt and shame. Let’s together explore biblical answers for an overly active conscience.