{"id":558,"date":"2012-11-01T22:55:20","date_gmt":"2012-11-02T02:55:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/robertcrosby\/?p=558"},"modified":"2015-03-13T23:24:22","modified_gmt":"2015-03-14T03:24:22","slug":"no-more-jiminy-cricket-reflections-on-conscience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/robertcrosby\/2012\/11\/no-more-jiminy-cricket-reflections-on-conscience\/","title":{"rendered":"No More Jiminy Cricket: Reflections on Conscience"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In the beloved classic Pinocchio, the puppet that wanted so to be a \u201creal boy\u201d was devoid of one essential component \u2013 a \u201cconscience.\u201d Since he did not come equipped with one, a lovable, and sometimes irritable, companion named Jiminy Cricket entered the puppet\u2019s world and, for a time at least, assumed that role.\u00a0 Jiminy was Pinocchio\u2019s constant companion forever dictating advice on the \u201cgood\u201d and the \u201cbad\u201d in the potential choices he faced. Depending on Pinocchio\u2019s response, the benefits and consequences that ensued in the story proved Jiminy\u2019s judgments right again and again.<\/p>\n

More than any other New Testament writer, Paul gave clear teaching on the function of the conscience. The conscience seems a mystery to us today, but the Bible is clear and direct regarding its function and importance. The Random House Collegiate Dictionary<\/span> defines conscience as \u201cthe testimony and judgment of the soul which gives approval or disapproval to the acts of the will. It is a special activity of the intellect and emotions which enables one to distinguish between good and evil.\u201d Paul said, \u201cI strive to always keep my conscience clear between God and man . . .\u201d (Acts 24:16).<\/p>\n

Conscience is a wisdom gift from God to us<\/span><\/strong>. . .sort of a internal safety monitor. It is our chance to be a co-witness with God . . .to sit in a seat of judgment with Him over the options and situations in our lives.<\/p>\n

The conscience has no power of its own to decide. It cannot force the will It simply delivers its verdict. Like a thermometer, it detects and indicates temperature but never causes or modifies that temperature.<\/p>\n

A conscience was given to every one of us as a kind of spiritual compass. At creation the delicate magnet on the needle tip within the compass was carefully positioned by our Father Creator to draw us in the right direction, but when man sinned in the Garden it fell dangerously out of place. Now, as a result of that fall, \u201cthere is a way that seems<\/em> right to man, but the end of it is death\u201d (Proverbs 16:25). Thank God, Jesus came and died for you and me to forgive our sins and to cleanse our consciences by his shed blood. And by the renewing work of his Word, our spiritual compasses are restored.<\/p>\n

Our conscience, in a sense, is the storehouse of wisdom. As God teaches us his principles and standards through Scripture and the leading of his Spirit, the conscience is the part of us that holds a record within. When we are faced with a choice, an opportunity or a temptation, a \u201cgood conscience\u201d faithfully reminds the believer of the \u201cgood\u201d and the \u201cbad.\u201d Paul himself even defined a \u201cmature\u201d Christian as a person who knew how to respond correctly to their conscience: \u201cthe mature, who have some practice in telling right from wrong\u201d (Hebrews 5:14b; The Message<\/em>).<\/p>\n

2 Types of Consciences<\/h3>\n

<\/strong>Zoom in on what the Bible says about the conscience and you will soon see that there are two types. One is a Condemning Conscience and the other a Commending Conscience; One is extremely dangerous and the other a great gift. It is crucial that we look at both of these and then at ourselves.<\/p>\n

A Condemning<\/em> Conscience.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Someone with a \u201cweak conscience\u201d (1 Cor. 8:7-12) is like a compass with a weak magnetic current. Its needle tends to vacillate. Instead of honing in securely on wisdom\u2019s \u201cTrue North\u201d, it seems to flutter nervously between confused and fearful.<\/p>\n

Often the possessor of a \u201cweak conscience\u201d is constantly tormented, often guilt-ridden and sometimes finds himself struggling with unbelief. Reasons for a \u201cweak conscience\u201d often include a lack of Word-knowledge and\/or a will that is unsurrendered to God. Sometimes individuals with weak consciences can be hyper-sensitive and self-condemning.<\/p>\n

Paul also said that the conscience \u201ccan become defiled\u201d (1 Cor. 8:7). If we aren\u2019t careful and obedient to what our conscience tells us to do, we can abuse and ruin it. As we persist against its faithful functioning we defile it, just as dust clogs the delicate mechanism of a watch causing it to record the wrong time. What Paul wrote to his young prot\u00e9g\u00e9, Timothy, ought to be enough to motivate us to keep our consciences pure:<\/p>\n

\u201cTo 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 <\/strong>are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.\u201d (Titus 1:15,16)<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most desperate condition of the conscience is the one Paul describes as a \u201cseared conscience\u201d (1 Tim. 4:1-4). It is possible to become so disobedient and insensitive to the repeated \u201cjudgment calls\u201d of our consciences that they become seared, calloused and unfeeling. This is a dangerous place to dwell. As clothing scorched by a hot iron becomes marred and useless, so a \u201cseared conscience\u201d becomes a corrupting and misleading influence in a person\u2019s character.<\/p>\n

A Commending<\/em> Conscience.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Only those who know God\u2019s forgiveness and seek to walk in the light of it possess a truly \u201cclear conscience\u201d (1 Tim. 3:9; 2 Tim. 1:3). The kind of person who has a \u201cgood conscience\u201d (1 Tim. 1:5, 18-19) accepts the demands of righteousness. Paul taught Timothy that one of the most foundational keys to godly living was having a \u201cgood conscience.\u201d He said that true love only flows from \u201ca pure heart and a good conscience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finally, the book of Hebrews teaches us that in order for us to stop doing sinful acts that lead to death (i.e.: separation from God), we must have our consciences cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ our High Priest.<\/p>\n

But what about you and me today as Christians? Does \u201cconscience\u201d really matter all that much? Is it an ancient concept or a present reality? And just what is the conscience? And how does it work? More importantly, perhaps, how do we work<\/em> with it?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the beloved classic Pinocchio, the puppet that wanted so to be a \u201creal boy\u201d was devoid of one essential component \u2013 a \u201cconscience.\u201d Since he did not come equipped with one, a lovable, and sometimes irritable, companion named Jiminy Cricket entered the puppet\u2019s world and, for a time at least, assumed that role.\u00a0 Jiminy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":336,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,5,231,307,308,14,139,20,181,99,150,29,30],"tags":[94331,94313,47,94371,94372,94317,309,104,94328],"class_list":["post-558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-belief","category-bible","category-conflict","category-conscience","category-ethics","category-faith","category-following","category-journey","category-obedience","category-religion","category-salvation-2","category-sin","category-soul","tag-belief","tag-bible","tag-christian","tag-conscience","tag-ethics","tag-faith","tag-morality","tag-salvation","tag-sin"],"yoast_head":"\nNo More Jiminy Cricket: Reflections on Conscience<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In the beloved classic Pinocchio, the puppet that wanted so to be a \u201creal boy\u201d was devoid of one essential component \u2013 a \u201cconscience.\u201d Since he did not\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/robertcrosby\/2012\/11\/no-more-jiminy-cricket-reflections-on-conscience\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"No More Jiminy Cricket: Reflections on Conscience\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In the beloved classic Pinocchio, the puppet that wanted so to be a \u201creal boy\u201d was devoid of one essential component \u2013 a \u201cconscience.\u201d Since he did not\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/robertcrosby\/2012\/11\/no-more-jiminy-cricket-reflections-on-conscience\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"THE CURRENT - Leading the Following Way\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-11-02T02:55:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-03-14T03:24:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs\/robertcrosby\/files\/2012\/11\/Jiminy.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Robert C. 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