Lesson 6: Listen to Your Conscience
Have you noticed that you get an uneasy feeling down inside of you when you say or do something wrong? This is your conscience.
Your conscience is like a little voice inside of you that tells you when you are right and when you are wrong. You must learn to listen to your conscience because this is one way God speaks to you.
When we are right with God and right with others, our conscience will tell us that we are right. We will have a clear conscience. To be a happy Christian, we must have a clear conscience.
When we sin against God or sin against another person, our conscience will tell us that we are wrong. We will have a guilty conscience.
If we want to get rid of our guilty conscience and have a clear conscience again, we must make things right with God and with the people we have sinned against. When we do this, once again we have a clear conscience and we can be a happy Christian.
How to make things right with God
To make things right with God, we must confess our sins to Him. The Bible says,
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." I John 1:9
What does this verse say? It says that if we confess our sins to God, He will forgive us and cleanse us. God forgives our sins because He sees the blood of His Son which was shed for them. Once again we are clean in God's sight and we have a clear conscience.
To have a clear conscience, we must make things right with God.
How to make things right with other people
To have a clear conscience, we must not only make things right with God, but we must also make things right with the people whom we have wronged in any way.
When we hurt someone by something we say or do, this is called an offense. When someone has an offense against us, it means that we have wronged them in some way.
If we want to have a clear conscience we must make things right with those we have offended. We must allow God to search our heart and show us the offenses or wrong things we have done to other people. Here are some questions for you to consider:
- Have you lied to someone?
- Have you ever stolen from someone?
- Have you talked back to your parents or disobeyed them?
- Have you hurt someone by something you said?
- Have you been mean to others in your family—your brother or sister?
- Have you acted ugly or disrespectful toward your teacher at school?
Let us consider the steps we must take to make things right with others:
Make a list of the wrong things you have done.
Begin making a list of the wrong things you have done and the people you have hurt or offended. Write down every offense you can think of. Do not be in a hurry. Some things will come to your mind quickly. It may take time to think of other offenses. When you have completed your list, it may look like this picture:
Go to the person and apologize.
Once the Lord has shown you that you need to apologize to someone, do it promptly. The best way to apologize is to go to the person and speak to him or her alone. Do not talk to other people about it. Go directly to the person and go at a time when you can speak to him or her alone.
Apologize correctly.
When we apologize to someone, we should say what we did wrong and ask the other person to forgive us. We should not try to blame someone else. Many times when a person apologizes to someone, he does it in a wrong way. If you apologize in the wrong way, the offense is not cleared up and it will still be on your conscience.
Wrong ways to apologize:
Many people do not know how to apologize. Here are some examples of wrong ways to apologize:
"If I did anything wrong, I'm sorry." This apology is not a correct one because you have not really admitted that you did anything wrong. You have not said what your offense was or asked for forgiveness.
"I was wrong, but you were wrong too." This is wrong because you are trying to excuse yourself. You must take full responsibility for what you did, regardless of what the other person did.
"I'm sorry I lost my temper, but you made me do it." This is wrong because you are blaming the other person for what you did.
The right way to apologize:
We have just looked at some wrong ways to apologize. Now let us learn the right way to apologize. To apologize correctly, you should:
1. Say what you did wrong.
2. Not blame anybody else.
3. Ask the person to forgive you and wait for his answer.
Here is an example of the right way to apologize:
"Brian, I talked ugly to you the other day. Will you forgive me?" This is the right way to apologize.
Make things right with the other person.
If we have stolen from someone, we must make things right with him. It is not enough to say, "I am sorry that I stole from you. Please forgive me." We must also return what we have stolen or pay for it.
If you stole money, pay it back. If you are not able to do this immediately, make arrangements to pay a certain amount each week until it is paid back. Be sure to keep your word and do what you promised to do.
Don't make excuses.
Sometimes we know what we should do, but we make excuses for not doing it. It is wrong to allow an excuse to keep you from apologizing to someone when you know you should do it. Here are some common excuses:
"I'll do something special for that person to make up for my offense."
You cannot say, "I know I talked ugly to my mother, so I'll help with the dishes tonight to make up for it." This will not clear up your offense. If you talked ugly to your mother, you need to go to your mother and ask her to forgive you. Then, if you want to do something special for her, that is fine.
"I'll apologize later."
Putting things off is a bad idea. Jesus said that we should go quickly to those we have wronged and ask for forgiveness.
"I was wrong but the other person was wrong too."
That may be true, but you are still responsible for what you did that was wrong. The other person may have been more in the wrong than you were, but you are still responsible for your part. When you apologize for your part, perhaps the other person will apologize for his part. Even if he does not, you have done what was right for you to do.
To be happy you need to have a clear conscience
To be a happy Christian, you must have a clear conscience. You must know in your heart that you are right with God and right with other people. The Apostle Paul said, "This is the reason I do my best to always have a clear conscience toward God and toward people." (Acts 24:16)
In this verse Paul said that he always tried to have a clear conscience toward God and toward other people. We should do this also.
If your conscience tells you that you are wrong, listen to your conscience! Make things right with God by confessing your sins to Him. Make things right with other people by apologizing and asking for forgiveness. No one should be able to say to you, "You did me wrong and you never apologized or tried to make things right with me."
This picture illustrates the steps to a clear conscience.
(A story series written by Edna Menzies.)
Wendy tossed uneasily as she thought of how much Susan wanted to win the Bible. And Susan really needed that Bible. With a jerk, Wendy turned her hot pillow over and, closing her eyes, she finally dropped into a troubled sleep.
Before breakfast the next morning, Cheryl came skipping over to where Wendy and Susan were hanging out their towels to dry. "Something good happened last night," she told them. "Miss Ardill talked to me, and I asked the Lord Jesus to be my Savior. I've never been so happy before-never!" Her blue eyes were shining, and her whole face was alive with happiness.
"Oh, Cheryl, I'm so glad," Susan said. "I've been praying that you would do that."
"And now you have your name in Jesus' book of life," Wendy told her. At Cheryl's puzzled look, Wendy explained to her about the Lamb's book of life. She was still answering Cheryl's questions when the breakfast bell rang, and they ran to get in line.
At the table, Wendy whispered to Susan, "Cheryl looks cute in those jeans and top. Has she made any new friends yet?"
Susan nodded. "Yes, I saw her playing with some kids yesterday. And now that she has the Lord Jesus to help her, I think she will begin to grow like Jesus wants us to. Don't you think so too?"
Wendy murmured a reply as a little stab of envy went through her. "Everyone is growing but me," she thought. "I wish I could grow too. Maybe I would if I wasn't so selfish in wanting to win that Bible." But she quickly pushed the thought away and began to talk to the girl across the table from her.
After breakfast, instead of waiting for Susan, Wendy slipped away to find Brian. He was still unhappy about his wallet, but he told Wendy that he had asked Jesus to help him forgive Pete.
"I don't feel mad at Pete any more," Brian said. "I don't think I love him though — at least not very much," he added honestly.
"Maybe you will be able to after awhile," Wendy encouraged him. "Do you still think he took Bobby's money?"
"I don't know." Brian skipped a stone on the water as they stood beside the lake. "But whoever took it must have felt sorry. Because Bobby told me that he found a dollar on top of the clothes in his suitcase yesterday."
"Oh, good. I'm glad he got his money back." Wendy paused, then went on, "It isn't easy to grow to be more like the Lord Jesus, is it Brian?"
A dull red crept up in Brian's face. "Do you mean because I got so mad at Pete last night? I—"
"No, I wasn't thinking of that," Wendy interrupted. "You are growing, Brian. Because you have already asked Jesus to help you forgive Pete. I'm the one that isn't growing. I want to. I really do. But I don't think I am."
"Maybe Jesus can see that you are growing inside, Wendy," Brian comforted her. "Say! Look at the foam on those waves. Doesn't it bubble up just like soap suds?"
"Soap suds!" Wendy's hand flew to her mouth and her eyes grew wide as she stared at her brother. "Oh, it was my turn to help with the dishes and I forgot all about it. Now I'll lose a point." With a groan Wendy turned and fled up the path toward the kitchen.
At the kitchen door Wendy met Susan coming out. "I-I-forgot," Wendy gasped. "Did they call my name?"
Susan put her arm through Wendy's and led her away from the kitchen. "Yes, they called your name, Wendy. But I said I would change with you. I've just finished. You can do it in my place tomorrow."
"Thanks a million, Susan," Wendy gulped — "Do you think it's all right? I would have lost a point, you know, if you hadn't taken my place."
"Of course it's all right. The kids are changing with each other all the time. The ladies in the kitchen don't mind as long as someone takes our place."
Just then the bell rang for the morning Bible lessons. The girls got their Bibles and followed the crowd to the main building.
"I hope Mr. Douglas doesn't ask me for the golden verse today," Susan whispered nervously. "I didn't get time to go over it this morning."
"I'm sorry, Susan. It's all my fault that you didn't get time to study the verse," Wendy said. "I hope he won't ask you today."
But when Mr. Douglas began to call on different ones to say the verse, Susan's name was the second on the list. Susan got as far as, "being fruitful in every good work—" then she stopped.
Wendy longed to prompt her but that was against the rules. Dear Lord Jesus, please help Susan to remember, Wendy prayed in her heart.
Just when Mr. Douglas started to tell her to sit down, Susan remembered the words and finished the verse with a rush.
"Good for you," Wendy whispered as Susan wiped the beads of perspiration from her face and gave Wendy a shaky smile. Wendy thought to herself, Susan is the most unselfish person in the world. And I'm the most selfish. I don't want to be like that. I've got to do something about it. But what?
Wendy saw Brian a few minutes after craft period and he told her with a big smile that Mr. Kenneth had fixed his wallet. He had brought a little machine and had made a zig-zag pattern over the place where they had added the new piece.
"Of course I can't win a prize with it because Mr. Kenneth did the sewing and it wasn't all my work. But I don't mind — as long as Daddy likes it." Brian said. "Now, I've got to hurry. The boys are all going on a hike. Bye," he called over his shoulder as he ran off.
The girls practiced most of the afternoon for the final sports event they were to have the next day. In one race Linda Sooter slyly tried to trip Wendy as she raced past her. Wendy felt the angry tears sting her eyes but suddenly the golden verse flashed into her mind."That you might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing." Wendy fought back her tears and ran on.
Later she saw Linda watching her, but she didn't say anything.
It was nearly supper time when the boys got back from their hike. Brian and Randy came over to where Susan and Wendy were sitting on the steps of the main building.
The boys were wild with excitement and began at once to tell the two girls all that had happened on the hike. They said that Biff and Pete had bothered them and said mean things to them— that they had talked just loud enough so the counsellor could not hear, but the other kids could.
Finally, Biff and Pete got tired of that and started to lag behind. Brian had looked around just in time to see them turn off the path and enter the woods. He thought they were just being smart and would soon return to the path. But when they didn't, Brian had told Mr. Kenneth. So they had all turned back, and Mr. Roberts had taken the rest of the boys back to camp while Mr. Kenneth and Brian and Randy had gone into the woods to look for the boys.
"We found Pete quite a long way from the path. He was Iying on the ground and man, was he in bad shape!" Brian said.
"What happened to him?" the girls asked. "And where was Biff?"
"Pete told us that he had been getting fed up with the things Biff was doing, and that he was ashamed of his part in it too. So he had told Biff he was through and that he was going back and own up to what he had done and try to make things right. That made Biff so mad he started hitting Pete. In their fight, Biff knocked Pete over backwards and he landed against a hornet's nest hanging in the bush behind him."
"Oh, how terrible," Wendy exclaimed with a shiver. "Did he get stung a lot?"
"You bet he did," Randy said. "His face and hands were swollen. He felt so bad he could hardly walk. We helped him back to camp and left him with the nurse. Mr. Kenneth went further into the woods to look for Biff. You see, when Pete showed him the direction Biff had gone, Mr. Kenneth knew that Biff was headed the wrong way. Biff had said he would go to get help, but he must have gotten lost because Mr. Kenneth still isn't back."
"But listen to this," Brian said triumphantly. "Pete told me he was sorry for taking Bobby's money and cutting my wallet. He asked me to forgive him. Of course, I did. He asked the Lord Jesus to forgive him too, and to be his Savior. Isn't that great? Now I have a real camp buddy." Brian's voice was full of satisfaction and Wendy was glad to see the happy look back on his face.
"I sure hope they find Biff soon. He needs Jesus, too," Randy said. "He really, really does."
The next morning the whole place was astir with noise and excitement. It was the children's last full day at camp. Some of the parents were coming for the program that afternoon. They would take their children home with them after the program was over. The remaining campers would be taken home by bus the following morning.
