Everybody knows what a conscience is, right? Its that little voice inside of you that tells you what is right and wrong. It is the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other shoulder advising you in advance of what you should and shouldn't do. Conscience is what makes you feel guilty when you disregard it. It is what makes you feel accomplished when you act in accordance with it. And miraculously your conscience just kicks in automatically when some ethical decision needs to be made. In the heat of the moment, it is your conscience that encourages you to do what is right.
But how does it do that? And how do we know what is right? And right for who?
Recently my 7 year old daughter stated, with some degree of sadness, that she has waited her whole life to hear God talk to her. My husband asked her if she had ever been about to do something wrong, and heard a little voice inside warning her not to do it. She immediately said yes. My husband said that was God speaking to her. This was so encouraging to my daughter. All this time God had been talking to her, and she didn't even know it!
I love the idea of my conscience being one of the ways that God communicates with me, and directs my steps. I am so thankful that I am working on a relationship with the Creator that will enable me to hear His voice more clearly, and do what is right.
But what about those people who don't have a relationship with God? How do they know what is right and wrong? How do they decide what to do and not to do? Whose voice do they hear?
And to further complicate matters, everyone's conscience doesn't speak with the same objective voice. My conscience is set up to reflect what is right and wrong for me personally. But if I'm not careful, it will begin to reflect my personal feelings, tastes, or opinions. And over time that little voice won't tell me what is right, but it will tell me my version of what is right.
To prevent this erosion of "rightness", there has to be some objective standard by which we measure ourselves and our behavior. But what is it?
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