Young People Ask . . .
Why Does My Conscience Bother Me?
THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD Soraya kept losing weight—but not because of some fad diet. Explains Soraya: “I got involved with a bad crowd at school. I knew better, but there was constant peer pressure. Soon I had a boyfriend who was using drugs.” And what did this have to do with her weight loss? “My conscience bothered me so much that I couldn’t eat.”
Seven-year-old Alex was found torturing himself. He had poured grains of rice on the floor and was painfully kneeling on them with his bare knees. The reason? Alex had disobeyed his parents and had decided to punish himself.
Both youths were reacting—and rather severely at that—to something the Bible calls conscience, an inner voice that has tormented even servants of God when they have done wrong. “There is no peace in my bones,” wrote David after he had committed adultery. (Psalm 38:3) Joseph’s brothers similarly suffered feelings of guilt after they, in a fit of jealous rage, sold him into slavery. More than 20 years later, they could still recall how Joseph ‘implored compassion on their part.’ What an agonizing memory that must have been!—Genesis 37:18-36; 42:21.
Yes, a bad conscience can bring pain and emotional distress. Conversely, a good conscience brings satisfaction and joy! No doubt this is why, in a Soviet poll of thousands of youths on their values in life, “a clear conscience was rated as the most important.” (Soviet Monthly Digest, July 1983) Of prime concern to Christians, though, is the fact that the Bible says to “hold a good conscience.” (1 Peter 3:16) But how can you do that? First, you must understand what the conscience is and how it works.
The Conscience—What Is It?
Over a hundred years ago, Italian author Carlo Collodi spun his famous children’s tale of Pinocchio—the wooden puppet boy with a knack for getting into trouble. Often there to chastise and correct Pinocchio was the talking insect, Jiminy Cricket. In effect, he was Pinocchio’s conscience. Similarly, you might compare your conscience to a voice or an alarm that goes off before or after you do wrong or right.
One inventor has exploited this concept with a device called the diet conscience. It is a battery-run unit that mounts inside refrigerator or kitchen-cabinet doors. Every time the door is opened, a recording says: “Are you eating again? Shame on you.”
But unlike Jiminy Cricket or some man-made device, your conscience is something inside of you. The Bible describes the conscience as an internal ‘witness bearer’ that testifies to the rightness or wrongness of a deed. (Romans 2:15) But where does this faculty of conscience come from?
An Inborn Faculty
It is true that we learn much about right and wrong from our parents and others. Nevertheless, the Bible indicates that the conscience is inborn. At Romans 2:14, it speaks of how “people of the nations . . . do by nature the things of the law.”
Basic moral standards, therefore, appear to be built into man’s thinking. Remember, man is made “in God’s image,” reflecting to a certain degree godly wisdom and justice. (Genesis 1:27) No doubt this is why nations worldwide have laws against such things as murder, stealing, and incest.
Even in small matters, the soundings of the conscience can be heard. One department store thus appealed to people’s consciences by selling shopping bags in an unlocked dispenser. Above the change slot hung a sign that read: “Your conscience is my only protection.” Yes, the fact that most people have an active conscience works to our benefit. Otherwise, our lives and property would be in worse danger!
Train It!
Though inborn, the conscience is far from infallible. For example, the Bible speaks of those with a “weak” conscience. (1 Corinthians 8:7) Due to misinformation, such ones may tend to overreact to certain situations and suffer needless alarm. On the other hand, some are “marked in their conscience as with a branding iron.” (1 Timothy 4:2) Their conscience is insensitive, like flesh scarred from a branding iron.
Consider Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi war criminal who was convicted and hanged for his part in the murder of six million Jews. Did he ever have guilt feelings? Psychiatrist I. S. Kulscar asked him that very question, to which Eichmann replied: “Yes, once or twice, because of skipping school.” How twisted! Apparently Eichmann had learned to tune out his conscience. And says psychoanalyst Willard Gaylin: “The failure to feel guilt is the basic flaw in the psychopath or antisocial person.”
How can you be sure, then, that your conscience is working properly? First, it must be properly educated. How? By studying and meditating on God’s Word. This helps you fine-tune your conscience by learning God’s standards and “making your mind over.” (Romans 12:2) When properly trained, your conscience does more than simply chastise you after you have done wrong. It helps you avoid wrongdoing in the first place—even if there is no one around to approve or disapprove of your actions.
Listen to It!
Simply knowing right and wrong, however, is not everything. For the conscience to help you, you must learn to listen to it! Of course, this does not mean walking around feeling guilty all the time or taking extreme measures to punish oneself. Granted, we are imperfect. But says the Bible at Psalm 103:13: “As a father shows mercy to his sons, Jehovah has shown mercy to those fearing him.” God’s mercy and forgiveness help us live with our imperfections.
However, at times, the cries of our conscience should spur us on to appropriate action. Writes Lester David in Senior Scholastic: “Did you break a promise, violate a rule, break a taboo, hurt somebody, lie, cheat? . . . Apologize if you can, correct the misdeed in whatever way is proper. Talk it over with someone.” This is what Soraya, mentioned at the outset, did. Rather than simply feeling guilty, she talked matters over with her parents. She reports that she “began to feel much better” as she applied her parents’ counsel.
Yes, it is when you act upon the proddings of your Bible-trained conscience that you benefit from it. A young man named Bill, for example, became involved with a teenage gang. But then, says Bill, “I saw one of my friends go to prison for murder. My conscience now told me that it was all foolishness—not for me!” But did Bill simply feel guilty and let it go at that? No, says he, “I quit the gang.”
Another young man named Tony allowed his conscience to help him in yet another way. Tony is one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. His conscience moved him to volunteer 90 hours a month calling on people in their homes, teaching them the Bible. (Matthew 24:14; 28:19, 20) “I really enjoyed contacting people,” relates Tony. “Plus I had a good part-time job and my own car, and I liked where I was living. Yet I began to feel guilty for not doing more—serving where there was a greater need for young men like me.”
What a noble expression of the conscience! Responding to it, Tony applied to serve at the world headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses, where Bibles and Bible study aids—such as this journal—are produced. He has served there for the past nine years.
Are you listening to your conscience? It can be, as one youth puts it, like “a true friend who takes the time and effort to correct you.” It can also spur you on to fulfill personal and Christian responsibilities. But you must educate it properly and listen to it! Truly, the conscience is a wonderful gift. Respect it and use it well.
[Blurb on page 14]
Though inborn, the conscience is far from infallible. It must be properly educated
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A guilty conscience can cause great emotional distress