Sear Your Steak, Not Your Conscience
When I was a little boy, I stole a quarter from my mother’s purse. I immediately knew I had acted wrongly and I needed to make it right. Day after day my conscience bothered me and the heavy load of guilt increased. I finally confessed my sin to my mother and repented to God. Admitting that I had stolen money was the hardest thing I’d ever done. Of course mother and God forgave me. It was a wonderful feeling to be free from guilt and shame and to have a clear conscience again!
When you become a child of God, the Bible states that you’re a new creature and you have the spirit of Christ living in you. Your newly-cleansed conscience can be trusted to lead you in paths of Christlikeness. Deliberately ignoring your conscience is a spiritual danger as stated in 1 Timothy 4:1,2 NKJV: “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron…” Sear means to burn to dryness and hardness; to cauterize; to expose to a degree of heat that changes the color of the surface, or makes it hard. A seared conscience will make you insensitive to God’s voice and opens the door to deceiving spirits from Satan.
In the book of Acts 24:16 NKJV, Paul writes, “…I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.” Keeping it clear requires you to do the right thing even when it seems to be the hardest task you‘ve ever done. God speaks in a soft and tender voice that can be ignored if that‘s what you choose to do. But in order to follow Christ wholeheartedly, you must be able to hear the voice of your conscience.
A seared conscience doesn’t happen overnight; it‘s a process that occurs over a period of time. I recently read an incident about an older gentleman that brewed his coffee on the woodstove. He’d pour the boiling coffee into his cup and drink it quickly. Through the years, this man had seared his lips, mouth, and throat until it was easy for him to drink boiling coffee. This is an example of how you need to keep your conscience tender so that spiritual things will be clear to you.
If you speak unkind words, treat someone badly, tell a lie, or act out an evil thought, your conscience will let you know about it. Do yourself a favor and don’t shrug it off! The minute your conscience warns you, stop and make it right. Believe me, the sooner the better because the passing of time will make it harder to straighten out, and repeated offenses will eventually sear your conscience.
If you want to walk as close to the Lord as possible, then you should be thankful when your conscience convicts you. God is giving you the opportunity to come up higher in your spiritual walk.
The Bottom Line: If you want a close personal relationship with God, don’t sear your conscience.
Pastor Jimmy Tucker
(620) 223-1483
Diamond Community Church
Worship 10:45 am