REALIZE, REPENT, RELEASE AND RESOLVE TO REFRAIN

Conscience is the soft gentle voice of reproach present within all individuals. When a person is preparing himself / herself to commit an erroneous act, there is a sure nudge of the conscience that s/he experiences. However, continuous and repeated acts of misgivings as a result of consciously ignoring the pricks of the conscience, result in a dead conscience. When a person commits an erroneous act the very first time, there is a considerable amount of guilt. This is because the person feels convicted by the nudging of the conscience. At this juncture, a person responds in either of the following two ways:

• The person responds to the conscience by realizing the mistake, repenting for it and resolving never to repeat it

• The person ignores the convicting voice within and goes on with life as though s/he has not committed any wrong

Responding in the first way, makes it possible for the person to overcome the guilt pangs with time. However, a person who chooses to ignore the voice of the conscience fails to overcome the guilt within. Rather s/he masks the guilt by various means. Overtime, s/he turns deaf to the voice of the conscience. As a result, the erroneous acts multiply and their intensities increase too.

Many of us have been nurturing a dead conscience within us throughout this year. And so we have ended up hurting ourselves and people around. Some others have been nursing our guilt pangs every single day, not knowing how to deal with them.

It is vital to keep the conscience alive by heeding to the gentle nudging at all points of time. To be conscience-stricken is to keep the way open to deal with the guilt within. The golden rule is: Realize, Repent, Release and Resolve to refrain.

Realize your mistake.

Repent for the wrongdoing.

Release the guilt pangs.

Resolve never to repeat it.

Bid a goodbye to all your guilt in the old year and welcome the New Year with freshness!

WHAT IS THE REASON OF YOUR GUILT?

All of us have felt guilty one time or the other in life? It might be a huge guilt that burdens our heart down or a minor one that just goes away with time. Last 2 days we learnt about true and false guilt – but how do we know the difference between the two. How do I realize that the guilt I am feeling now is really a true guilt or a false one? I could identify about 4 reasons of feeling guilty – that might help one figure out the difference.

Breaking the promise

Breach of a promise makes us feel guilty. If you promised a friend that you would go out for a movie with her and have to cancel at last minute, it leaves a little guilt inside you. I promised myself to not eat too much fatty food yet I feel guilty when I indulge in a second chocolate pastry.

Not meeting the expectations

We live in a society and people have certain expectations from us. Our family comes first in this case. I know mothers who feel guilty about not spending enough time with the kids. Sometimes siblings drift apart from each other and that becomes a reason of guilt.

Lying

Telling lies is a complex process. We all have told lies to our parents about eating an extra chocolate or bunking classes. Now as adults the lies get more and more serious and could be a strong cause of the guilt.

Hurting another person

Hurting somebody’s feelings intentionally or unintentionally does make most of us feel guilty. Nobody likes to hurt the other person unless one has a strong feeling of revenge. This is one guilt that most common.

Doing something immoral

This area is quite grey because moral values can differ for people. Highly immoral activities are also illegal like murder, rape, theft etc. – these activities are black and white, but there are also moral values that have been changing with times and also differ depending on cultures and families. For example, 20 years back a woman engaging in pre-marital sex was considered highly immoral by Indian middle class community; today it is considered ok by majority of Indian middle class. A woman engaging in pre-marital sex would have felt high amounts of guilt 20 years back than the woman of this date. So in such cases, the feeling of guilt out of morality differs largely on a person’s up-bringing and society.

So, if you feel guilty about something – try and find out which category does your reason of guilt falls into and then probably you can better judge whether it is a true or false guilt. Living with guilt is like living in a feeling of constant failures. More guilty you feel, more negative you will get. It does not help. Do what it takes to come out of that guilt – but just remember not to hurt anyone in the process of getting rid of your own guilt.

 

WHAT IS FALSE GUILT?

June Hunt!!! Yes, she describes further talking about guilt. She gives a list of false guilt which should not be within our hearts troubling us till the end…

She says,

• False Guilt is based on self-condemning feelings that you have not lived up to your own expectations or those of someone else.

• False Guilt arises when you blame yourself, even though you’ve committed no wrong, or even though you’ve confessed and turned from your sin.

• False Guilt keeps you in bondage to three destructive weapons – shame, fear, and anger.

• False Guilt, ironically, is not resolved by confession.  (The past keep coming up again and again) 

Now, this kind of guilt has to be dealt carefully and should be given up at once or else it will literally torment the person day and night.

Keep reading, keep sharing…

Stay Blessed! 

WHAT IS TRUE GUILT?

Do you guys remember June Hunt? I had mentioned about her earlier. She is the host of the Nationally Syndicated Call-in Counseling Broadcast Hope in the Night.

She talks about ‘Asham’ a Hebrew word for Guilt. She says,

“Asham, with its many derivatives, paints a three-dimensional picture of true guilt.”

She further describes guilt, I mean true guilt as follows:

• True Guilt refers to the facts of being at fault, deserving punishment, and requiring a sacrificial offering.

• True Guilt is the result of any wrong attitude or action that is contrary to the perfect will of God.

• True Guilt is the result of sin whereby a penalty must be paid for your sin so fellowship with God can be restored.

I will explain what she is talking about in a simpler way with few examples.

True guilt comes when somebody realizes his/her fault or wrong attitude towards somebody. True guilt comes when he/she makes himself/herself available for the punishment and correction. She mentioned about “Sacrificial Offering.” Sacrificial Offering doesn’t mean any animal or bird sacrifice but it is a true offering of our body, soul and mind to God to restore the vertical (Spiritual – with God) as well as horizontal (Social – with fellow humans) relationship. Sacrificial Offering is something which we do to compensate our wrong attitude towards the person against whom we have commit the sin.

Have you felt guilty for your wrong doing? That’s better… If you are not guilty of your wrong doings and your committed sins then start thinking seriously about your attitude. 

Keep visiting and keep reading…

Stay Blessed!!!

SANCTIFICATION OF CONSCIENCE IS NEEDED FOR A GUILT FREE LIFE

Have you ever seen a thief or a person who lied walking on the streets? They walk looking here and there… They speak with their eyes looking at the ground… They  stammer while replying your questions or interrogation.

When we are at fault we behave in the same way.

But why do we behave like that? Because our guilt doesn’t allow us to live or walk or speak freely or at liberty. It binds us with a guilty feeling. It takes away our independence. It captivates our mind and soul.

It is our conscience that makes us feel like that. Our conscience is the only thing that speaks to us when we are all alone. 

CONSCIENCE is a gift from God. A clear CONSCIENCE is a true friend of us all who always speaks the truth and shows the things, which are good and what we have done is wrong. 

What the psychologists say about it or define conscience?

What is Conscience? The experts say –

“A sense of right & wrong.”

“Conscience is the capacity for moral judgment.”

“An inerrant knowledge of the need to do what is right and avoid wrong.”

Some advanced studies define conscience as, “Conscience is the faculty of the mind, or inborn sense of right and wrong, by which we judge of the moral character of human conduct.”

Our Conscience is always ACTIVE. It never stays quiet. What does it do? How does it help us?

God has given each one of us a conscience because of its multi facet functions, which are as follows:

It Strikes or Convicts: – When we do something wrong, our conscience strikes us, bothers us, troubles us. We find that conscience also convicts of our faults or what we did. That’s the reason we look down to the ground when we are convicted of our faults.

It Reproaches: – The conscience also reproaches, when we are at fault.

It Confirms (the Truth in us): – Our conscience confirms that we are telling the truth according to the moral ethics or Godly standards. In this case the conscience should be at par with the true value system before being satisfied. 

It Testifies: – The conscience testifies that we have done the work in the holiness and sincerity that are from God. The conscience bears witness of our truthfulness. And thus we live a guilt free life.

Why then we commit mistakes?

Why don’t we follow the lead of our consciences?

We don’t follow or listen to our conscience when it is SEARED…

The consciences of some people are seared with hot iron. Which means their moral consciousness have literally become insensitive to good and bad of life like the place of scars of an animal branded with hot iron become numb to the pain.

Our Conscience can be affected negatively. It can get polluted anytime in this gloomy world. It can be corrupted with worldly desires. It can be SEARED – with our family upbringing, in an given environment, in an adverse situation with the pressures of life.

“BUT THAT CAN NOT BE AN EXCUSE TO DO GOOD…”

We need to be CAREFUL about our CONSCIENCE. Hence, we need to CLEAN it EVERYDAY and every MOMENT. We need to STRIVE for a CLEAN & CLEAR CONSCIENCE.

But, HOW???

I would talk about TWO major processes of Sanctification of Conscience. Sanctification is the act or process of acquiring sanctity, of being made or becoming holy or be clean.

Process of Sanctification – 1: Comprehending the TRUTH  

How does the Truth Sanctify? Understanding truth is very important because when we know the reality, the truth miracles start happening. 

The Truth is a LAMP to our feet and a LIGHT to our path. When light of truth gets in, the darkness of falsehood vanishes. When our conscience knows the truth and comprehends it’s value it shuns evil. 

The Truth is like a LAMP SHINING in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in our hearts; The Truth lets the darkened heart see things which was not visible earlier. The truth enlightens the conscience and let it be sensitive towards the presence of sin which was insensitive before. The truth let the seared conscience feel or sense the right way through its LIGHT in this dark world.

The truth is like FIRE and like a HAMMER that breaks the rock in pieces? The truth burns the iniquities that a human keep hidden inside his inner heart or conscience. It starts pricking once again as soon as we understand the truth.

The truth breaks down the hardheartedness or the stiff necked attitude of a human. It humbles down the man. 

The truth is useful for teaching. It reproofs, corrects and teaches righteousness. This is how the revelation of truth SANCTIFIES a seared conscience.

Process of Sanctification – 2: Fellowship with followers of Truth 

I found a scripture portion which says, “For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. ” A believer here means, the believer of the truth. Fellowship with the people who follows the truth and do good helps in changing of attitude and building good characters ultimately sanctifying the seared conscience of a human being.  

This is a very debatable yet interesting and very vast subject which we will discuss more in the following week.

Keep visiting and keep reading more on this topic as the week progresses…

Stay Blessed!!! 

BE A DREAMER

Today is the last day of the current week. We have come to the concluding post of the topic: “Following your passions.” I am feeling funny and sad to share that we had very less passionate readers this week. I don’t wanna write any final words on this topic but will just scribble down another snippet for you all to read and understand.

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.“

Harriet Tubman

True! We can’t do anything fruitful unless we dream about anything. There has to be a dream which takes away our sleep and make us busy achieving it.

This is just a small thought which I wanted to bring into all of your notice as we are on the verge of ending this week here.

Stay Blessed!

THE PASSIONATE LOVE OF A SAVIOUR

As I sit this Christmas Eve to pen down a few lines on this week’s topic ‘Live your Passion’, I am strongly reminded of the passion with which Jesus Christ loved mankind so as to come down to this earth in human form. The passion with which God loved and continues to love humanity cannot be described in words. It can only be felt to be believed.

It’s easy to love a friend. But, it’s very difficult to love an enemy. However, God demonstrated His passion towards humanity, by loving us while we were still enemies. The question might pop up in some minds as to how on earth is humanity in enmity with God? The answer is ‘because of sin’. Sin distorts our holy image with which the Holy God created us all. Hence, to restore us all to the pristine glory in which God intended us to be, Jesus Christ came down to offer His hand of friendship to us. So wonderful a love!

It was indeed the passionate love of Jesus that made Him leave His Heavenly abode and step down to earth to redeem mankind from the shackles of sin. That’s the true reason for celebrating Christmas!

Christmas is not merely about cakes, candles, gifts and feasting. It’s about the passionate love of a Saviour! A former atheist C.S. Lewis who experienced this passionate love of Jesus Christ later on in life describes the advent of Jesus on earth with these words – “The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God.”

Wishing all our readers a Joyous Christmas!

• Rajnandini Sahu