The issue that has been most heavy on my heart recently (as with many people), is what has been revealed about Josh Duggar. I don't know much about Mr. Duggar, I have seen the show but didn't watch it regularly. While the actions of Mr. Duggar are truly saddening - it's impossible to measure the damage and hurt that has been caused - I don't want to discuss the specifics. Pornography is a huge problem, and Satan is using it to destroy lives for sure...but I want to talk about how we are called to live in light of the many different attacks Satan has in his arsenal. Not every person struggles with pornography, but every single person struggles with sin, and Satan knows our weakest areas. How do we fight off these attacks?
First, we need to recognize that God is the One who can, and will protect us from the attacks of the evil one. In James 4:7, we have this promise: "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." God loves us, and wants us to grow as His children. He has revealed to us, through His Word, the ways that lead to sanctification and growth. Psalm 1 tells us we are to delight in the law of the Lord, and meditate on it day and night.
As we meditate on the Word of God, we will see that He has called us to grow in certain ways - both by recognizing and purging sin from our lives, and by proactively seeking God's influence in all areas of our lives. An area in which we are to seek God's influence that is, I believe, largely ignored, is our conscience. Webster's Dictionary defines conscience:
- the part of the mind that makes you aware of your actions as being either morally right or wrong
- a feeling that something you have done is morally wrong
The problem we quickly run into is clear: everyone has a different idea of what is wrong and right, as well as how wrong or right any certain thing might be. These ideas are shaped by a slew of influences, experiences, and opinions. As God's children, we have the true Standard of what is good, that being God as He is revealed through His Word. Yet, even that has been, and always will be, under attack as the creation attempts to exalt itself.
If the conscience as our inner voice, is subject to so many different things, and is so easily manipulated, is it something we ought to just ignore? The Bible answers that question with a resounding NO! Instead, the conscience is one of the ways that the Holy Spirit guides us. We cannot ignore our conscience simply because it can be so easily manipulated, but rather, according to God's Word, we are to purify our conscience.
In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul dedicates an entire chapter explaining how we ought to pay attention to each other as brothers and sisters in Christ, aware of each others weaknesses, so that we may not influence someone to act against their conscience. While the act itself may not be an issue, acting against one's conscience starts a hardening process, and as a result we become less sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading in our lives.
God tells us in 1 Thessalonians that we are not to quench the Holy Spirit in our lives. Becoming hardened to our conscience is the first step down this road. As we become hardened, and less sensitive to the Holy Spirit, we begin to act according to what we as individuals think is 'right or wrong' based on our reasoning. God warns us in Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick" God, through regeneration, changes the desires of the heart and mind. But we are, without a doubt, engaged in a lifelong battle against the flesh. A hardened conscience that is not sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit will give way to the flesh, and the justifying of much sin.
We, as God's children, absolutely need the conviction that comes from a pure conscience that is hyper-sensitive to the Holy Spirit.
1 Peter 3:15 reminds us that we are to have a good conscience, and in verse 21 he tells us that baptism is an appeal to God for a good conscience. In Romans 12:1 we are called to be living sacrifices to God, and in verse 2 we are told this comes by the renewing of our mind. It's the saying,"Out with the bad, in with the good" - how else does this happen but by delighting in the law of the Lord, and meditating on it day and night!
We are works in progress...the most important thing is that we don't hide this.
If we are going to reveal the power of God in our lives, its so crucial that we be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. When conviction comes...listen. There is no evidence of the power of God when we admit we screwed up after being caught. There is much evidence of God's power in the lives of His children when we admit our failures as we recognize them, long before those around us may even notice.
Ultimately, God is sovereign and in control, we can be confident and find peace in that. However, if we are to be completely given over to Him, to live this life for His glory, that He be revealed in all of His power and might, we need to be consumed with magnifying His Name...NO MATTER THE COST! My plea is that we, as His children, will become more sensitive to the damage the sin in our lives can cause to His Name, and out of love for Him, seek to not quench, but magnify the influence of the Holy Spirit in our lives through a pure conscience!
God bless!
