Recently I made a decision that I regretted almost immediately. I can't share the details for the sake of confidentiality, but suffice to say, I spoke before I thought. I committed to doing something that compromised my conscience, and I felt uneasy about it.
I couldn't get the matter off my mind throughout the evening, and made it a matter of prayer. The next morning in my regular devotional reading, I came across the following verse:
Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things.
- Hebrews 13:18
My heart's desire was to honor God in all things -- and it is for this very reason that I did not have a clear conscience regarding my current situation.
So I dealt with it.
I did what I had to do. But it resulted in some folks being disappointed. In a very real sense I was disappointed too.
But there's a difference between feeling bad and feeling guilty. Better to be sad emotionally than to sin intentionally.
So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
- James 4:17
Sometimes our mouth gets us into trouble. We speak before we think. We get ourselves into a fix that violates our conscience. When we get into that sort of situation, we need to get out of it asap. Scripture provides a good example of this in the case of finances:
My child, if you have put up security for a friend’s debt or agreed to guarantee the debt of a stranger—2 if you have trapped yourself by your agreement and are caught by what you said—3 follow my advice and save yourself, for you have placed yourself at your friend’s mercy. Now swallow your pride; go and beg to have your name erased.4 Don’t put it off; do it now! Don’t rest until you do.
- Proverbs 6:1-4 NLT
How easy it is to get ourselves in a bind! We put ourselves in a predicament that is either blatantly sinful or blurs the line between right and wrong! Whenever that happens, we should repent and do what is right. Isn't this what Jesus taught?
“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. Which of the two did what his father wanted? “The first,” they answered.
- Matthew 21:28-31
Jesus assured them that they had answered correctly. Then he went on to confront them about their failure to change their minds even after they saw the truth.
Don't make the same mistake.
Of course it's better not to get yourself into such a predicament in the first place. My own recent experience taught me a good lesson in that regard. But I'm so glad that my conscience is now clear.
Is yours?
