What is the conscience?

When speaking of the conscience, I remember a famous TV

commercial about how a certain mother was choosing a brand of soap for her family. In
that commercial, while the mother was deciding, a part of her being, some form of voice
spoke to her, telling her that the brand of soap that she was about to choose is not the
best for her family. The voice told her to choose brand of soap that would remove 99.9
percent of germs.
If we watch Philippine television a lot, I think this commercial sounds familiar. In fact, some
other commercials nowadays are based on this concept.
The human conscience actually similar to this voice at the back of our heads when we
make decisions. It works like that some part of us that could speak to us and warn us of
danger which we might have experienced in the past or reason with us so that we would
continue with a certain course of action.
The conscience is our internal witness bearer. It is our capacity to judge ourselves. It
literally means co-knowledge, or having knowledge of something within oneself.
Our conscience works like a compass, which points us to the direction of the north. Or the
yellow or amber traffic light which warns the driver to stop immediately because crossing
traffic is impending.
It is shaped by training and experience. It has the ability to make excuses or make
accusations about ourselves. If we experienced something bad about a certain situation,
then our conscience will warn us to avoid that situation so that we wouldnt experience the
same thing again.
This inner moral sense is implanted in all of us at creation and inborn in all people
regardless of race, cultural background or attitude. Even the people who we consider as
evil or unrighteous, have a conscience. The Bible tells us that at Romans 2:14, 15. Lets
open up our Bibles to Romans 2:14, 15.
14

For when people of the nations, who do not have law, do by nature the things of the law,
these people, although not having law, are a law to themselves. 15 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 by their own thoughts they are being accused or even
excused.
Note that verse 15 mentions that they have a conscience even if they are people of
nations and even if they do not follow the laws of Jehovah.
However, the conscience can be abused and rendered an unsafe guide. For example, the
compass, which we likened to our conscience in pointing direction, can be an unreliable
guide if local magnetic attraction exists. So if you are near power lines or metallic objects,
the compass needle will be attracted to these sources of magnetism and the compass will
show a false reading.
Our conscience is likened to the navigational system of an airplane. If the system fails, the
plane will crash and hundreds will die. This happened to Air New Zealand Flight 901 which
departed Auckland, New Zealand for a sightseeing tour of Antarctica. The captain had a

flight time of 11,000 hours, a very experienced one. But the coordinates given to him were
incorrect, the navigational system failed, and the plane slammed on the sides of Mount
Erebus, killing everyone aboard.
Majority of the people today have a distorted view of what constitutes sin. For instance, in
the same way that flight safety depends on a properly functioning navigational system
and precise points of reference, so our spiritual, moral, and even physical well-being
depends on a responsive conscience guided by correct moral points of reference.
Moral values of most people have eroded these days. Their lifestyle and moral principles
emphasize a do your own thing, mind your own business principle and a you only live
once belief in life. This results in calloused and seared consciences, with wicked men
going from bad to worse.
As Christians, it is a challenge to hold a good conscience in environment where the spirit
of the world predominates.
Worldly influence surrounds us today when we are in school, at the workplace or even in
our community. Therefore, we should not minimize the possibility of being influenced by
this worlds spirit.
This influence, is similar to carbon monoxide poisoning. Carbon monoxide is a colorless,
odorless gas that kills by stopping red blood cells from delivering oxygen in the body.
Unless alerted to the danger, people exposed to it would faint and then die without ever
realizing that they were being poisoned. A similar thing happens to us when we are
influenced by this world. We never know we are influenced until its too late. The same
thing happens to us when exposed to radiation. We never know it until we develop a form
of cancer.
Standards could gradually erode so that what once was repulsive is now acceptable or
allowable. For example, experiences show that debasing music can influence thought and
conduct. Some songs have very catchy tunes but have unchristian lyrics.
Dr. Carl Taylor, an assistant professor of criminal justice at Michigan State University,
asserts that rock stars are promoting a life-style. . . . The band members do influence the
kids, very much so.
One boy who survived a suicide attempt said that the music lulled him and his friend
(whose suicide was successful) into thinking that the answer to life is death. Many young
people committed suicide because of listening to Emo rock after being brokenhearted.
Music has power. Indeed, it can play on the gamut of human emotionsfrom sadness and
pathos to love and joy. Music can lull one into calmness and incite one to rage. In Bible
times, we read that shortly after the Israelites were rescued from slavery in Egypt, they
abandoned the worship of Jehovah for that of a golden calf. What accompanied their
disgraceful behavior? Wild and depraved music! And when egotistical King
Nebuchadnezzar ordered his subjects to worship a pagan image, how did he seek to
arouse his peoples patriotic and religious fervor? By using stirring music! We should,
therefore, expect Satan to use music to mislead people today. He is the ruler of the
authority of the air, the spirit that now operates in the sons of disobedience.

Moral breakdown has become so widespread that gross violators become celebrities and
are glorified, idolized by the people. Some famous homosexuals have primetime noon
shows with very high popularity ratings. Their movies broke blockbuster records and
became record-holders in the movie industry. Their concerts have tickets sold out weeks
before the event. They are featured on the front page of popular magazines. Their
influence on politicians and lawmakers resulted in other governments, like the United
States, to legalize same sex marriage.
The danger exists because, although most people acknowledge eroded conditions, they
still accept them and contribute to them.
But, Gods standards have not changed. Malachi 3:6. His principles of whats right and
wrong, thousands of years ago remained constant, unlike the eroding, changing morality
of the people today. If we accept worldly viewpoints, we are at a disadvantage, we will lose
out since Jehovah will abandon us.
Also, we can stumble others. Do we know how serious it is when others will lose their zeal
in Jehovahs service because of us? Let us read 1 Corinthians 8:12:
(1 Corinthians 8:12) When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their
weak conscience, you are sinning against Christ.
So if we wound the conscience of others, we are sinning directly against Christ. Consider
this experience: A relatively new sister started to leave a theater because of the offensive
content of the movie being shown. She saw an elder, with his family, obviously enjoying
the movie. She remained and suffered from a troubled conscience for a long time. Do we
now realize the gravity of hurting our brothers and sisters conscience?
Going back to fact that we live in a sinful world, we can hold a healthy, and good
conscience by educating it and enlightening it with accurate knowledge from Gods word.
We must hold a good conscience even in the face of pressures or opposition. Let us read 1
Peter 3:16, 17:
(1 Peter 3:16, 17) Maintain a good conscience, so that in whatever way you are spoken
against, those who speak against you may be put to shame because of your good conduct
as followers of Christ. 17 For it is better to suffer because you are doing good, if it is Gods
will to allow it, than because you are doing evil.
Our good conscience bring honor to Jehovah because a good conscience results in
honorable conduct. A good conscience can correctly assess matters and set them straight.
Consider the example of Zacchaeus.
When Jesus came to Jericho in the spring of 33 C.E., just before going to Jerusalem and to
his death, Zacchaeus wanted to see him, but being short in stature, he could not see over
the crowd. So, running ahead to an advance position, he resourcefully gained a vantage
point by climbing a tree. This interest, of course, impressed Jesus, who told Zacchaeus that
he would stay with him while in Jericho. The people objected, however, saying that Jesus
was making himself a friend of sinners. Showing a changed attitude, Zacchaeus declared
that he would restore fourfold whatever he had got unjustly and that he would give half his

belongings to the poor. Jesus then acknowledged that his household was now in line for
salvation.
The conscience of Zacchaeus, although calloused after years of malpractice in taxation,
functioned properly, and worked for the better since this moved him to change his attitude
and give what unjustly acquired to the poor and needy.
The extent of accurate knowledge is reflected by the way our conscience functions. Most
of the time, our conscience judges guilty after we commit sin. But for persons who
appreciate Gods will and educate their conscience, this would help them avoid
committing sin.
A good conscience encompasses all areas of life. It guides us in seeking employment.
Making sure that it doesnt violate our neutrality and that it does not interfere with
spiritual activities such as our preaching work, our meetings, personal study and family
worship. It directs us as to personal speech and conduct. This helps us understand why our
brother reacts in this manner so that we will not hold grudges against our brothers in the
congregation. It leads us to displaying the new personality. It helps us reject bad habits,
such as smoking, gambling drug abuse or drunkenness. It also helps us maintain a positive
view of changes in our organizational arrangement.
Therefore we must cultivate the desire for a good, not weak conscience. A weak
conscience would indicate improper or inadequate training. A good conscience, on the
other hand, is properly trained and will quickly alert us of the dangers of bad actions. It will
keep us from hurting ourselves, having negative influences on others and displeasing
Jehovah.
Jesus showed that our conscience should move us to take advantage of opportunities to do
unselfish, noble, kind and loving things like what the Good Samaritan did to the Jew who
was robbed and left on the side of the road to Jerusalem.
A properly trained conscience will motivate us to set the right example, like Jesus. We will
be concerned as to how others are affected by what we do, even in instances where there
is no wrongdoing. On this matter, let us read Romans 15:1, 2.
(Romans 15:1, 2) We, though, who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those not
strong, and not to be pleasing ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good,
to build him up.
When the conscience of a fellow Christian could be offended by what we do, brotherly love
will move us to be considerate and restrict our choices. An example of this might be the
use of alcoholic beverages. A Christian is permitted to drink wine in moderation. But if
doing so might stumble his companion, he will not insist on his rights.
16

This principle could also be applied to our dealings outside the Christian congregation.
For example, we may live in an area where the prevailing religion leads its adherents to
view one day of the week as a day of rest. For that reason, so as not to stumble our
neighbors and create obstacles for the preaching work, we will avoid as far as possible
doing anything on that day that will offend our neighbors. In another situation, a wealthy
Christian may move to serve where the need is greater among people who are of little

means. He might choose to show consideration for his new neighbors by dressing very
simply or by otherwise living more modestly than his finances permit.
17

Is it reasonable to expect those who are strong to make such adjustments? Well, think
of this illustration: While driving on a highway, we see ahead of us some children walking
dangerously close to the road. Do we continue driving at the maximum speed allowed just
because we have the legal right to do so? No, we slow down to avoid possible danger to
the children. At times, a similar willingness to slow down, or yield, is called for in our
relationship with our fellow believers or others. We may be doing something that we have
a perfect right to do. No Bible principles are being violated. Nevertheless, if we could
offend others or harm those with a weaker conscience, Christian love will move us to act
with caution. Maintaining unity and promoting Kingdom interests are more important than
exercising our personal rights.
If we appreciate the value of our God-given conscience, we will not be inclined to think just
in terms of rules. Rules might set out minimum requirements, or goals. But a conscience
stimulated by love and faith likely will make even greater demands on us, moving us to
greater sacrifices and unselfishness. In that way we certainly will benefit from our
conscience. It will keep us from the things that might result in Gods disapproval, and it will
aid us in doing things that he definitely approves. Particularly is that so as our conscience
guides us toward having a larger share in proclaiming the good news.
A strong, active, yet good conscience, enables a God-fearing person to have peace of mind
and Jehovahs favor.
So, going back to our title, yes we can definitely hold a good conscience in a sinful world if
we put in the effort. With a good conscience, we will enjoy a relationship that Abraham
had with God as Jehovahs friend.