Scripture
If some unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. But if anyone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of the man who told you and for conscience’ sake—the other man’s conscience, I mean, not yours. For why should my freedom be judged by another’s conscience? If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for? 1 Corinthians 10:27-30

Observation
Convictions are little rules we apply to ourselves that do more good for us than for God. There may be some wild part of our personality that we need to bring under God’s control and so our conscience applies a principle toward something better. Three cheers for convictions. They can get us out of everything from nail biting to binge drinking.

But convictions can be irritating to others. Some folks are irritated that we don’t have enough of them and others are put out that we even have just one. If we’re not careful, what others can experience from us is not the soft hand of grace but the back hand of the law.

I love how Paul applied his convictions. For him, the hot topic was buying meat with a smiling picture of Zeus on the wrapper. He didn’t want to eat drumsticks snatched off of Hercules altar, so he boycotted temple food. But there were bumper guards for his convictions. He didn’t dig through the garbage at a friend’s barbecue to find out where his T-Bone steak came from. Nor did he push away a hearty bowl of Saturn Stew served up at the neighborhood block party. He had convictions, but he always obeyed first the law of love.

What Paul advocated may sound at first inconsistent, but Paul was perfectly consistent with the law of love.

Application
We need to have convictions “for” good as much as we have convictions “against” wrong. We can be so right that we are absolutely wrong if we ignore the law of love.

Prayer
Father, I pray that you will give me convictions but show me how to round the edges of them without cutting corners so that others experience not rejection by me but love for you. Amen.

Press the arrow to listen to Meredith Andrews sing “You’re Not Alone” while you read today’s devotion.

Scripture
Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them. Romans 2:14-15

Observation
How can a person know if he or she has crossed the line with God? How someone turn up the volume of God’s voice? Is it possible to restore sensitivity to the soul?

The answer is accessible to everyone, whether they have read a Bible or not. Imagine inside every human life, there is a court room. The law of God is inscribed not in leather-bound law books, but on the soft tissue of the human heart. In this courtroom of the heart, there is a witness stand, with a star-witness under oath, bound to speak the truth. It is our conscience.

We don’t always hear our conscience, because as in every courtroom there is a lawyer.  The legal counsel in the courtroom is our reasoning. Our conscience can speak the truth, but like a crafty lawyer, reason can twist any argument so that we feel right while doing wrong.

So if our reasoning is not to be trusted, how can we ever know if we have pleased God or not? We are to look for two heart reactions. First we will feel accused when we do wrong. This emotion will not last long because we are skilled at taking our own guilt and hurling it on others. To keep sensitive we need to act promptly and do what our conscience requires.

After accusation, the second reaction is self-defense. When we find ourselves arguing in our thoughts and no one is debating with us, we can be certain that the Holy Spirit is speaking and we are looking for a way around his will. When we sense self-defense we should ask, “What am I trying to avoid here?” Finding that answer and acting on it peels away another layer of insensitivity.

Application
I must fight to stay tender by doing what I want to avoid. The way to turn up the volume of God’s voice, is to confess to others when I have done wrong, repair damage I have done and more. My conscience is too precious to waste.

Prayer
Father, keep me sensitive in a callous world. Amen.