“This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.” [1 Timothy 1: 18-20]
Man’s sense of right and wrong is a guide to their actions in every circumstance. This sense is called CONSCIENCE. When it is healthy, we say the person has a GOOD CONSCIENCE, but when it becomes defective or malfunctions, they have lost good conscience. It is retention of a good conscience that differentiates between a human being and a wild beast. Beware of and avoid anyone who has lost good or put away conscience—I will tell you how to relate with or handle such people later.
Timothy was a pastor of a local church at Ephesus, yet his spiritual mentor, Apostle Paul, admonished him to hold both faith and a good conscience. It is possible for a pastor, man of God, woman of God, or a local church member to go about officiously engaging in religious rituals without a good conscience. How terrible it is for majority of members of a local church to lose good conscience, going about empty religious rituals without any sense of right or wrong, completely oblivious that they have offended God by offending fellow members of the same local assembly or neighborhood! A lost conscience is a SEARED CONSCIENCE; and common possession of a seared conscience by people within families, organizations, nations, and even local churches is a sign of the last days as foretold by the Holy Spirit:
“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.” [1 Timothy 4: 1-2]A common symptom of a malfunctioned or seared conscience is hypocritical lying: a kind of lying that a person tells by shifting responsibility or blame to innocent people for the evil themselves have done. This is a lying that turns truth on its head without the liar feeling guilty about it. This is a terrible condition that makes a monster out of a human being, making possessors of this psychosomatic condition inventors of their own reality. The term often used to describe people who have lost good conscience is SOCIOPATH. A sociopath has no good conscience, offends and lies while claiming to be innocent, and gradually feels enemies are after them, because although they have lost the capacity to feel guilty for their devious and hideous actions, they can’t lose the fear that torments them as a result. Therefore, a sociopath begins to view their victims as enemies who are after them, and becomes increasingly hateful. Eventually, the sociopath metastasizes into a psychopath, a very dangerous state—a state in which the psychopath actively devises to harm, hurt, and even kill.
Your faith in God and the thoughts of your heart are closely connected. When you start losing regard for, and interest and faith in God’s words, know that Satan’s poisonous darts have sunk into your soul releasing the venom slowly within. The word of God is his Spirit; and wherever the Spirit of God is unwelcome, darkness pervades. But when the Spirit of God moves over the face of the evil depths of man’s wicked heart, the evil conscience is healed, the soul is regenerated, and the new life shines through in much the same way the light of God dispelled darkness in the genesis of God’s account to man of creation. Until faith is formed in the soul of man, God can do nothing, achieve nothing, and prevail over nothing in such life. And faith cannot be formed in a soul until the light of God’s word first shines in the soul. Accordingly, beware of anyone who hears God’s word without acting on it: they are dangerous. Regular exposure to the divine word hardens the heart if the word is not positively acted upon in much the same way the wet clay hardens with constant exposure to the sun rays and heat.
The soul (mind or heart) of man is the seat of man’s awareness of himself and his environment. It is the seat of man’s emotions and the medium of man’s relationship with himself; but the mind cannot be born again. Rather, God’s word renews the mind if allowed to. It is in the mind of man that spiritual battles are fought, which explains why we are commanded in the Holy Scriptures to keep or guard our heart (mind or soul) with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. Can you see the danger of a lost good conscience? With the loss of a good conscience the mind is corrupted, and with the corruption comes corruption in the knowledge of God’s will leading to self-destructive choices and actions. But when we escape the corruption that is in the world through lust, we partake of the divine nature or life of God. It is the spirit of man that is born again by the Spirit of God. And man’s spirit is given him to be conscious of God and relate with God. But it is the mind’s renewal by God’s word that keeps man’s spirit healthy. This is why your faith in God and the way you think are related or directly proportional. Know, therefore, that the way you think and what you think about are a revelation or witness to you about who you are. If your heart is filled with hateful and vengeful thoughts, you are evil and bound for eternal destruction, except you repent and restitute. Man’s physical body is given him to relate with this material world. Just think about how impossible it would be for you to relate with your family or neighbors without a physical body.
When a man loses a good conscience, his faith in God is destroyed, and with this comes a complete severing of his relationship with God and a fearful journey toward eternal destruction. Apostle Paul gave examples of two members of the church at Ephesus at the time who had shipwrecked or destroyed their faith with their loss of a good conscience—brothers Hymenaeus and Alexander. And although Apostle Paul had applied the spiritual discipline of delivering them to Satan (when the local church overseer or shepherd, who must give account to God, consciously evokes the punitive aspect of John 20:23 over incorrigible church members and withholds protective prayers), unfortunately, Alexander did not repent; and so towards the end of Apostle Paul’s life and ministry on earth, he wrote pastor Timothy about Alexander:
“Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works:
Of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words.” [2 Timothy 4: 14-15]How do we relate to people who are affiliated to a local church, but who have lost a good conscience and refused to repent despite God’s word that they are exposed to regularly? First, BEWARE of them. In other words, MARK them and AVOID them:
“Now I beseech you, brethren, MARK them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and AVOID them.
For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” [Romans 16: 17-18]
I would advise, especially the young ones in our local assemblies, to beware of earthly persons in the church who treat divine things as though they were their local association matters. Beware!
In her book The Sociopath Next Door, Martha Stout, a former Harvard Clinical Psychologist and faculty, wrote about “Thirteen Rules For Dealing With Sociopaths In Everyday Life.” I take the liberty of listing those rules here because the rules are paraphrases of the Holy Scriptures (the paraphrases of Stout’s rules are mine):
1) Recognize that not everyone is morally upright with a good conscience. They also don’t have a serial killer’s appearance. They resemble us.
2) Pay attention to your intuition and give priority to its advice. “Go with your instincts when faced with a choice between what your instincts say and what is
implied by the role a person has taken on, such as educator, doctor, leader, animal lover,
policeman, humanist, or parent,” advises Stout.
3) Put the “Rule of Threes” into practice. Out after three strikes. One unspoken word, one violated pledge, one overlooked duty—there can be a miscommunication. Two: that might be a grave error. Three: the individual you are working with is dishonest, because the essence of a heartless person is deceit. Stop losing right away.
4) Challenge those in power.
Pay attention to your own intuition and fears, especially in the presence of people who assert that their dominance over others serves a higher
cause.
5) Be wary of flattery.
Recognize the difference between flattery and compliments. Congratulation is typically gratifying. It seems like flattery goes too far. Recognize that flattery is a tactic used by sociopaths.
6) Revisit what you mean when you talk about respect. Differentiate between reverence and fear.There are situations when our fear of someone makes usrespect and bow down to them more.You should not appreciate someone only because they
make you feel afraid. Keep the two apart.
7) Refrain from engaging in intrigue by declining the invitation to play the game. A sociopath should not be competed with, outwitted, psychoanalyzed, or even made fun of. Your primary objective is self-defense.
8) Steer clear or AVOID. Steer clear of all touch as the greatest method to protect yourself. Reduce or get rid of the sociopath in your life. Even though sociopaths are skilled actors who can pretend to be wounded, you should be aware that they are manipulating you and have no feelings of their own.
9) Examine your inclination to sympathize excessively. A classic technique of the sociopathic is to evoke pity. The likelihood that you are interacting with a sociopath is almost certain if you find yourself
feeling sorry for someone who continuously injures you or other individuals. Associated with this: question your obligation to show courtesy at all times. Sociopaths fully exploit our innate social instincts. Keep in mind that “No” is a complete statement.
10) Never attempt to redeem what cannot be redeemed. Those with a conscience are the ones who get second (and third and fourth) opportunities. You have no power over the actions of others. The expression “you owe me” is another favorite of the sociopath; however, realize that you are
not at fault. Another common sociopathic tactic is to assign blame and force others to accept
responsibility for their actions. Once more, practice cutting your losses swiftly.
11) No attempts at deception. Never consent to help hide a sociopath’s actual nature, under any circumstances. According to Stout, “‘Please don’t tell,’ is the trademark plea of thieves, child abusers, and
sociopaths.” This is a self-serving request, so ignore it. More people should be cautioned about sociopaths than should be shielded from them.
12) Guard your mental health.
Never allow a heartless person to try to persuade you that people aren’t good. Recognize that, happily, the majority of us are capable of loving and possessing a conscience.
13) Lead a fulfilling life. The best retaliation is this. Never let a sociopath or anyone cut short your moral authority.
DO YOU HAVE A GOOD CONSCIENCE? If you have lost it or put it away, let’s pray together: “Lord Jesus Christ, I confess to you that I am dead; my conscience is dead, and I have lost my spiritual bearing. Please, wash me in your blood and forgive me of my sins. Come into my life and become my life. I ask this in Jesus name.” Henceforth, allow God’s word to control and direct you, and amend your ways and relationships with the people that you have hurt.
© Shilgba