Title: Paralysis of conscience
Contents
Some will turn from the faith and turn to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons. They are liars with hypocrisy, whose conscience is scorched with fire.”
This is an article from the subway love letter.
"It happened in the morning. A man wearing a navy blue jumper came into the station office with a paper bag in one hand. The story is that he was driving at dawn and crashed into a name plate at Children's Grand Park Station. He said he was sorry that he couldn't visit because he was on his way, and he continued to say sorry, and he presented the vehicle inspection certificate he was holding in his hand. The poles were scratched a little and did not receive compensation. I felt ashamed to send him back, and I was able to start a happy day thinking that there are such people in a world full of fraud and greed. "
“For this reason I also strive to always have a conscience without offense toward God and men” (Acts 24:16).
A single letter makes us even more ashamed in a turbulent world in which social leaders secretly exchange hundreds of millions of won in the name of rice cake. Not long ago, Aekyung Department Store delivered a letter to CEO Chae Hyung-seok, accompanied by a 1,000 won bill. The sender is Mo-Gun Hong, a sophomore at Yuhan Technical High School in Seoul. In the letter, Hong confessed that he had come to Aekyung Department Store with his sister in middle school, and secretly drank a yogurt while she was shopping and did not pay. The conscience of Hong-gun, who had been living without any guilt, was awakened by a national history teacher whom he met at high school. He was talking about Hanbo-bi-ri, which is a news item in class these days, and he said, 'If any of you do not ride the subway or bus for free, raise your hand. . When none of the students raised their hands, he said, 'You are also thieves. Before blaming the world, let's send a letter apologizing for the mistakes you've made.' After hearing the teacher's words, Hong remembered the incident he had completely forgotten and sent a letter of apology, and concluded as follows.
"Sir, I'm sending you 500 won for yogurt and 500 won for selling my conscience. Please forgive me for thinking of it as a childish act.
Park Yeon-soon, assistant manager of Aekyung Department Store's Customer Satisfaction Center, said, "As an older generation, I feel that there is still hope, along with endless shame."
“Have a good conscience, that those who revile your good works in Christ may be put to shame in their slander” (1 Peter 3:16).
“They must have a clear conscience and the mystery of the faith, who put these people to the test first, and after that, if there is nothing against them, they should be placed in the office of deacons” (1 Timothy 3:9-10).
Paralysis, including stroke, is emerging as a serious disease of modern people. Even children with paralysis are on the rise. But more serious is the paralysis of conscience. The French philosopher Rousseau said:
"Conscience! Divine instinct, the voice of heaven, the guide of intellect and freedom, the judge of good and evil. The supremacy of human instincts and the foundation of morality. You only feel the privilege of doing it, and then everyone is just a beast."
“I give thanks to God, who has served since my forefathers with a pure conscience for you, without ceasing in my supplications day and night” (2 Timothy 1:3)
Although our human conscience is so precious, it is not absolute. Titus 1:15 says, “Our conscience can be defiled.” If we continue to sin despite our conscience warning us, our conscience is naturally defiled. In this way, the distinction between good and evil is blurred. It becomes unclear. Moral judgment is clouded. Then the voice of conscience becomes weaker. Humans have free will and can listen to their conscience or ignore it. However, if you do not listen to your conscience and ignore it, your conscience will naturally become dirty. Not only is it dirty, it can be even more corrupt.
Conscience can be burned with fire. Then that conscience becomes so numb that it is paralyzed, so to speak.
When a person steals someone else's thing in the first place, the mind becomes uneasy. But if you keep doing it, you'll be less anxious than you were at first, and then it will become a habit and you will have no remorse. That's why there's an old saying that "needle thieves become thieves". This is unfortunate. If your conscience is burned with fire, you will not only be paralyzed, but your judgment will be distorted. The judgment of conscience is overturned. If this happens, it's a big deal.
If all Christians in Korea live according to their conscience, the dark shadows of society will disappear and the kingdom of God will expand. Let's pray together that all our people will live with upright faith and conscience.
* Prayer: Lord, who delights in honesty, we give thanks and praise to God for granting us a conscience. May this conscience continue to live on and lead us to live an honest and true life, and let us become saints who give glory and joy to the Lord who gave us life. As those who have received the grace of being set free through the Lord's sacrifice, we look at whether we are serving the Lord with a clean conscience. Lord, guide my spirit to be more pure and upright. We pray in the name of Jesus who suffered on the cross for us. Amen