Conscience !!!

"The paradoxical and tragic situation of man is that his conscience is weakest when he needs it most."

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Erich Fromm

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My family and I had been sleeping peacefully when we were awakened by the clanging of a burglar alarm. We dashed to the windows to try to spot the thief who had succeeded in climbing over the eight-foot-high wall that surrounded my son's house in Lusaka, Zambia - a city noted for its thieves.

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The top of the concrete-block wall was garnished with broken bottles imbedded in cement. Above the sharp glass were four electric wires ready to shock anyone who dared to climb over the wall. There were also floodlights, a night watchman and dogs, double locks on each door, burglar bars to alert and warn. Yet a thief got over the wall without triggering the alarm or exciting the dogs.

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When the guard came around the corner of the house, he saw the thief scramble over the wall, taking with him the guard's clothes, which had been hanging on the clothesline. That's when the guard pushed the alarm button, which awoke not only us but also the neighbors.

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The next day we tried to figure out how the thief got over the wall. We tested the wires, and they were alive, but the trigger system wasn't working. The thief had apparently used boards and a stick to separate the wires so he could get through. So our son, Mike, arranged for someone to repair the wires and the alarm system.

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The incident reminded me that while in our small American community we need some protection for our homes and vehicles, thieving is not as prevalent in our country as it is much of Africa. I can feel reasonably safe in my house.

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But then I reflected on the security of my heart and mind. There is an invisble thief waiting outside our heart and mind, ready to take over and making us steal, kill and destroy. Unless we are alert, the evil thoughts and its hooligans will succeed every day in gaining entrance into our minds and hearts.

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So how can we beef up the security system in our minds and hearts?

God has given us the biggest 'burglar alarm' called the 'Conscience'.

He's placed a wall around us 'His Law'.

Most of the time deep within our minds and hearts, we know what is wrong and what is right. But when we choose to follow what is wrong, thinking no one else knows, we betray our conscience and let the hooligans to break in and take over willingly.

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God's law are available in scriptures of every religion. These are our security system, and prayer is a direct link between us and God's security department that helps to protect our conscience. It takes only a second to make a call to God and His eveready angels will rush to protect us.

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When we take advantage of these security devices, we are secure from all 'Evil' efforts to break into our hearts and steal them for himself.

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John Stafford