On Guard

Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked. (I Timothy 1:19)

The conscience is made up of what we refer to as morals and principles - amassed while growing up. They act to define the actions we will allow in our lives and those we will reject because they don't align with this learned set of morals and principles. Whenever we are asked to violate our conscience, we might just feel a little anxious, fearful, or even guilty. In the strictest sense, the conscience has a "prohibiting" effect - if the conscience becomes a little "dulled" with the wrong set of morals or principles being applied, it may guide us into some pretty awkward circumstances. This is why we don't trust our conscience alone - it is only ONE tool used in the myriad of tools God gives us for our spiritual, emotional, and physical safety. Keep your conscience clear - the instruction is to not deliberately violate it. The smallest compromises in either our morals or principles can lead to the bigger ones. Our inward motivations dictate our outward actions - think about it long enough and you will act upon the thought! The other guiding influences in life are the Word of God, his Holy Spirit residing in us, and the sound teaching of godly people. Violate ALL of these and the road will be a really rocky one!

Conscience requires discipline - in order to form the right set of morals by which we make what people refer to as judgment calls. If your morals haven't been the best as you were growing up, or because you made compromises later on in life, there is still hope. Morals are just the "rules" of conduct by which we live - if you put Christ in charge of defining these, you will actually see them begin to change! You may have been raised in a home where criticism and nit-picking were just the "norm". In the community of believers where you now associate, this may not be considered very loving or kind. When we submit these "learned traits" to God, he goes about helping us "unlearn" them. Trust me, I know for a fact the things we have to "unlearn" are way harder than the ones we have to "learn"! We begin to realize the "changing of the guard" in our conscience whenever we begin to see the wrong choice before we make it, realizing it as a wrong choice. This is a good first step - learning to heed it is another! Conscience is "situational" at times - we go with it when it is the easiest choice, but we sometimes don't heed it when it is the toughest! How is it we get our conscience to not sell us short? I think it comes by keeping our eye on the three indicators of "right" or "wrong" in our lives - God's Word (what does it have to say about what it is we are about to do); God's Spirit (when is he giving us that internal "niggling" to respond or deny the response); and lastly, our conscience. I put conscience last because it is the least reliable source, so it doesn't deserve placement over God's Word or his Spirit!

Conscience can help us recognize sin in our lives - but not always stop us from engaging in sin. We need the other sources of "recognition", as well. Once we recognize sin has a foothold in our lives, there is but one response which is correct - turn away from it. This is what we call repentance. The most important thing if we want a change of conscience is the "changing of the guard" - determining who will be the center of our focus and choices. If it remains us, we will fail repeatedly because our conscience will not always protect us. If we choose to make Christ central in our world, the changing of the guard over our minds and choices becomes a reality! What does this look like? Perhaps it is learning to take a little time before we respond - just so we can be sure we are responding to the "right" voice. Maybe it is taking time to think about what we have learned from scripture - the "what does God say" principle. No guard is worth their weight in gold unless that guard actually preserves, protects, and pursues what is right. Just sayin!

What are your cardinal virtues?

George Washington Carver reminded us, "Where there is no vision, there is no hope." Carver was a committed scientist, always looking for ways to improve the soil that otherwise would have been depleted by years and years of planting the cotton crops of the day. His desire was to see agriculture take on the 'preservation' of the soil nutrients, planting in such a ways so as to allow the soil to 'regenerate' and be renewed. Did you know he was a Christian man? He was one of the first to proclaim that all of science is aided by the understanding of what it is to be in Christ Jesus - in other words, his faith 'enabled' him to be a good scientist. He could have been a very wealthy man, but instead he lived an average life, pouring himself into his work, his family, and the betterment of agriculture. On his grave you will find these words: He could have added fortune to fame, but caring for neither, he found happiness and honor in being helpful to the world.

Where there is no message from God, people don’t control themselves. But blessed is the one who obeys wisdom’s instruction. (Proverbs 29:18)

Vision gives us purpose - it helps to define our every step. Where there is no vision, the people perish. Where there is a partial vision, hope is ignited. Where there is a strong vision, purpose is unwavering. I think Carver had unwavering purpose. As a black man, his efforts in the arena of agricultural science were not easily accepted by others in the scientific community. He was born a slave, challenged every step of the way, yet never lost hope of that spark of vision God put there deep within him. He was a sickly child and teen, with very little hope of growing up into old age. He never let his hope be dashed, though. He fought time and time again 'against the odds' and actually lived to a ripe old age well into his late seventies. Had he not have taken a fall down the staircase in his last days, he may have even lived longer!

Do you know the eight cardinal virtues he lived by? They speak volumes:

• Be clean both inside and out.
• Neither look up to the rich nor down on the poor.
• Lose, if need be, without squealing.
• Win without bragging.
• Always be considerate of women, children, and older people.
• Be too brave to lie.
• Be too generous to cheat.
• Take your share of the world and let others take theirs.

I would say Mr. Carver had the right vision for life, wouldn't you? Be clean both inside and out - live with integrity and strong moral turpitude. Treat all equally, don't be puffed up with pride, and don't pout when you fail or lose. Treat others well - like you'd like to be treated. I imagine that one may have been pretty hard because his white masters on the plantations he worked didn't always treat him well. Be too brave to lie - rising above any desire to 'cover up' any action, good or bad. Carry forward that honesty and integrity into all your interactions, never finding ways to take advantage of others. Take, but not so much so as to deny another. I imagine he gave without thinking of how it would affect him - knowing that others had needs and he might be able to meet them.

We could all take a lesson about vision and purpose from Mr. Carver. Without a clear vision (like he laid out in his cardinal virtues), the people perish. What 'cardinal virtues' have you adopted in your life? Go ahead - I challenge you to actually write those out today. You might be surprised just how hard it is to put into words the 'virtues' you say you are committed to in this life. Just sayin!

Who you reacting to?

Scripture tells us an open rebuke is always better than hidden love.  Too many times we equate a rebuke to NOT being loved, when just the opposite is true. You don't rebuke someone unless you care about them - care about what happens to them.  You'd let them go on in their poor choices or absent-minded pursuits without any direction or correction.  So, rebukes come on the heels of love.  This is a pretty tough concept because this generation teaches love is kind of mushy, always seeing the good in others, and being "tolerant" of those things we don't understand or agree with.  Let me just say there are some things we should be tolerant of - things which really don't matter that much. It could be as simple as tolerating (having a permissive attitude toward) how someone wears their hair or the style of clothes they choose to wear.  I am not a fan of the saggy britches, nor the hip issues they are creating by walking so they can actually keep their pants up, but I can tolerate it!  I cannot tolerate it when someone takes my Lord's name and uses it in conjunction with curse words.  There are just some things we should never tolerate.  Love goes deeper than just "tolerating" each other.  In fact, it gets into the messiness of each other's lives and stands alongside when things just aren't as they ought to be - unafraid to admonish if necessary.  

Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy. (Proverbs 27:6 NLT)

We cannot let someone else set the values for our lives, but we can learn from the values of others.  Each value we consider embracing we must filter through the Word of God.  If it measures up, holding up to the best measuring device we have at our disposal, then we can embrace it.  If it doesn't, we have to reject it!  We need to guard against just carte-blanche adopting everything someone says, does, or believes.  To be a follower of the wrong stuff is dangerous ground for us to even traverse.  

Sometimes we get so concerned with the reactions of others to the decisions we have made in our lives.  Let me clue you in on something - the reaction of another to the decision we make is not always the best judgement factor in making the decision!  Our decisions are not always going to be received well by another - their reaction is their own doing, not ours.  Sure, we have people in our lives, who come alongside to mentor us and to help us develop solid morals and values.  When they react to our decisions, it is usually from a different perspective - they want what's best for us, not what is convenient!

It is good to be sensitive to the reactions of another - but...their reactions should not be the determining factor in us making the decisions to live right, turn our backs on what is wrong, or move into a new place of freedom in our lives.  Another may resist us, but we need to look at the source of the resistance.  If it is based on biblical teaching, we may do well to listen to their resistance.  If it is based on their own philosophy or opinion, it is clouded by their point of view - so we will do well to test it against the Word and see if it measures up.

Here's what I hope we will all see today - there is internal and external guilt. The internal guilt we feel is usually because something we have done is outside of the parameters God wants us to remain within.  The external guilt we seem to embrace so easily is what another wants to project upon us because they are "reacting" to the actions we have taken.  It is this second type of guilt we need to guard against and be sensitive to.  This is not our guilt - it belongs to them.  Let them keep it!  They are reacting to our actions, not because they are concerned for our actions, but because of how it impacts them!

Truth be told, we allow people to "guilt" us into doing many things we neither want to do, nor enjoy.  Why?  Probably because we want to be "tolerant" of their viewpoint.  If they have a viewpoint which puts them at a disadvantage, we cannot embrace their opinion as truth - we have to maintain the viewpoint which really gives us the perspective of truth!  When we stand in our convictions, standing behind our decisions, others may become angered by those decisions.  Guess what - that anger is not yours to bear - it is theirs! When we take their anger upon ourselves, we are bearing a burden which is not ours to bear!  If you are being "guilted" by another, it is usually because they want control.  Controlling people get very frustrated by your unwillingness to allow them control!  Don't react to their desire for control - stand your ground!

Here's the down and dirty - don't be intimidated by the reactions of another. The only "reaction" which really matters is God's!  How we act is always his focus - whenever our actions are not as he would desire, it is his "reaction" to our action which should be our focus.  The convicting grace of God is the safest thing to embrace - the guilt of another human is not!  Just sayin!

Dangerous NOT to belong!

In school I found there were various groups of people - some were pretty popular, others not so much.  In the moment, almost all of us wanted to be part of the popular group.  It was not so much the desire to "do" what they did, but to be considered to be "part of" their group.  In fact, if I had considered some of the stuff they "did", I might have reconsidered my all-fired desire to "fit into" their group!  Isn't it funny how we view others from the limited perspective of how being "part" of their "circle" will benefit us?  This is certainly not a new issue in society - nor is it soon to be resolved!


^15-17 Mordecai walked out of the king's presence wearing a royal robe of violet and white, a huge gold crown, and a purple cape of fine linen. The city of Susa exploded with joy. For Jews it was all sunshine and laughter: they celebrated, they were honored. It was that way all over the country, in every province, every city when the king's bulletin was posted: the Jews took to the streets in celebration, cheering, and feasting. Not only that, but many non-Jews became Jews—now it was dangerous not to be a Jew!  (Esther 8:15-17 The Message)


In looking back, I have discovered we often believe it is more "dangerous" for us to be outside of these "groups" than it is to be on the "inside track" with them. As I consider some of the things I engaged in just to "fit in", my hair curls!  The type of speech I used, the ways I tried to dress, the out and out rebellious deeds - they just mount up and make me shake my head!


Isn't it amazing how many times we consider it a "benefit" to be anywhere other than we are, be doing something other than what we are doing, or to be someone other than we are?  If we re-read this passage closely, we see an amazing thing happening here.  


First, Mordecai was exalted because he refused to compromise his values.  He stood strong when asked to bow to Haman in homage - instead choosing to believe no one other than God himself was due this type of honor.  Our values are the one thing no one can truly take away from us.  When they are rightly rooted in the Word of God, the promises and commands contained within, we find these to be both a comfort and a strong foundation for our lives.  In looking back over my life, I discovered how much every "compromise" of a value cost me.  Values are a guiding principle - compromise them and you soon realize how much compromise costs.  Yet, hold fast to them, and you will be rewarded - maybe not in the moment, but God never forgets his children!


Second, when even one person stands upon the values they know to be right and sure, an entire nation can be affected!  We will never fully realize the impact of our "deciding moments" - not only in our own lives, but in the lives of those who observe them.  What we choose to do with the decisions of today determines the course of tomorrow - for us, and for those we influence.


Last, we never know the impact of our remaining true to our values upon those with dissimilar values.  In fact, for Mordecai the very fact he held to his beliefs and was honored for this stand began to cause those outside of the faith to consider what the "benefits" of his faith really were.  Wouldn't it be great if our deciding moments of today began to influence others to "investigate" the hope we have in Christ?  I wonder if the day will come when those who don't believe in Christ will ever feel it is a "dangerous thing" to NOT believe?  Who knows what impact we could make if we lived true to our convictions - refusing to compromise, standing upon what we believe to be true, and delighting in doing the will of God!