1 Peter 2:19
“For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly.”
The phrase “for the sake of conscience toward God” catches my attention. God has instilled within us a conscience. It’s an internal judge which excuses or condemns us. It’s not the voice of God. It can be, but isn’t always.
This is another marvel of creation. It keeps a certain order in our own world. Our conscience tells us not to do certain things and prompts us to repair mistakes made.
The standard that the conscience goes by is the set of rules that we’ve learned. We could be taught that it’s wrong to say good morning. If so, we would feel guilty for saying it. If a person is taught erroneous rules, then the conscience is wrong.
Our consciences can be retaught. It’s as simple as relearning new rules. It takes a while for it to kick in. We can ignore a wrong conscience. 1 John 3:20 says that “God is greater than our conscience”. Even it condemns us, God still loves and supports us.
The devil can use our consciences to shame us. A guilty conscience is a weighty thing. Like a horse that’s overburdened with supplies, so is living with a guilty conscience. Romans 8:1 is a liberating scripture, “There is therefore no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus.” That guilt isn’t from God. The enemy is using it and blaming it on God. It actually drives us from Him. As we think He’s the source of it.
Today’s passage says that God wants us to have a positive attitude, even when we are treated unfairly. There are times for bringing up issues to be resolved. This isn’t one of them. Like having an unreasonable boss. We aren’t to continue to make ourselves miserable. We are to trust that God is handling it and stay positive.
The conscience rewards good behavior. We feel a warm glow when we do the right thing. This is the conscience patting us on the back. It brings courage. We almost feel like we aren’t alone. Another marvel of God’s creation.
Lord, thank You for our consciences. Thank You that they can keep us out of trouble and stand by us affirmingly when we do the right thing. Help us to ignore them and retrain them when wrong.