Guidance From Our Conscience

Jehovah has given us another source of guidance-our conscience.  He created man with an inner sense of right and wrong.  It is part of nature.  In his letter to the Romans, the apostle Paul explained: "Whenever people of the nations that do not have law do by nature the things of the law, are a law to themselves.  They are the very ones who demonstrate the matter of the law to be written  in their hearts, while their conscience is bearing witness  with them and between their own thoughts, they are being accused or even excused." -Romans 2:14, 15.

Many who are not acquainted with Jehovah can, to some extent, bring their thoughts and actions into harmony with godly principles of right and wrong.  It is as if they were hearing a faint inner voice guiding them in the right direction.  If this can be true of those who do not have accurate knowledge of God's Word, how much more should that inner voice speak in the case of true Christians!  Certainly, a Christian conscience that is refined by a accurate knowledge of God's Word and that works in harmony with  Jehovah's holy spirit can provide trustworthy guidance. -Romans 9:1. 

A good conscience, one that is Bible -trained, can remind us of the way in which the spirit wants us to walk. There may be times when neither the Scriptures nor our  Bible-based publications comment specifically on a particular situation  in which we may find ourselves.  Still, our conscience may sound a warning, cautioning us against a potentially harmful course.  In such cases, ignoring the dictates of our conscience may, in effect, mean ignoring what Jehovah's spirit says. On the other hand, by learning to rely on our trained Christian conscience, we can make good choices even when   there is no specific direction in writing.  It is vital to keep in mind, however, that when there is no divinely provided principle, rule, or law, it would be improper to impose the judgments of our own conscience on fellow Christians in what are purely personal matters. -Romans 14:1-4; Galatians 6:5.

A clean, Bible-trained conscience is a good gift from God. (James 1:17) But we must protect this gift from corruptive influences if it is to function properly as a moral safety device.  Local customs, traditions and habits that conflict with God's standards can, if followed, cause our conscience to malfunction and fail to prod us in the right direction. We may prove  unable to judge matters correctly and could even deceive ourselves into believing that a bad act is actually good. -Compare John 16:2

If we continue to ignore the warnings of our conscience, its voice will become weaker and weaker until we are morally unfeeling or insensitive.  The psalmist spoke of such people when he said: "Their heart has become unfeeling just like  fat." (Psalm 119:70) Some who ignore the proddings of their conscience lose the ability to think properly.  They are no longer guided  by godly principles and are unable to make proper decisions. To avoid such  a situation, we should  be sensitive to the leadings of our Christian conscience even when the issues in question seem minor. -Luke 16:10.

Next time: Happy Are Those Who Listen and Obey

The Watchtower, 2000