That Little Voice

The Insight on the Scriptures defines the conscience as the capacity to look at oneself and render judgment about oneself, bear witness to oneself. It also says that our conscience is inherent in man, having been made part of him by God.

It always seems that JW publications speak about our conscious in relation to right and wrong, clean or unclean, but our conscience has an even wider capacity.

God has provided us with a built-in helper to guide us through life. But our conscience isn’t there only to help us with decisions of right and wrong. If we let it, it can help us in all aspects of our life, even the trivial. If it is well trained, and we are tuned into it, we can use it to improve our lives on every level.

Here are a couple of examples: You set your car keys down in the trunk of your car just for a moment while you get something out of it. Your conscience speaks up and warns you that that is a bad idea. You ignore it assuring yourself that you won’t forget them only to wind up closing the trunk with them inside. Or you’re about to go into a restaurant and your conscience suggests you take a sweater or jacket, in case you get cold. You ignore it thinking that won’t happen, but after a few minutes you get the chills and wish you had brought in something to keep you warm.

How many times a day does your conscience suggest an alternate course of action? Do you heed its advice, or do you pay the price later? Do you have to go back and get what you forgot, even though that little voice told you earlier to put it in your pocket when you had the chance? Or do you fail to get everything you needed from the store because you were in too much of a hurry to bother with making a list even though that little voice suggested it?

Whenever things turn out badly, many times the voice is there, scolding you for not listening to it in the first place. So why not just listen to it? When it provides good advice about a matter, don’t fight it, and don’t fool yourself by forcing it to say what you want to hear. If the advice is sound, take immediate action on it. Use that gift God has given you.

It can also be unkind, calling you “idiot” or “stupid” for not taking its advice. When that happens, immediately take control of it and change the words being used so that they are respectful. After all, training it is your responsibility, and you know no one should be spoken to in that manner, not even yourself, and we would not want to use God’s gift in a way that He would disapprove of. (Mt

5:22)

This is a quote from the Feb 15, 2013 Watchtower pp 27, 28:

Researchers have found that the task of simultaneously differentiating between many sounds becomes increasingly difficult when it involves listening to human speech. This means that when you hear two voices at the same time, you have to choose which one you will focus on. Your selection will depend on which one you want to listen to. The Jews who wished to do the desires of their father, the Devil, did not listen to Jesus. We receive messages from ‘the house of wisdom’ and from ‘the house of stupidity.’ (Prov. 9:1-5, 13-17) Both wisdom and stupidity keep crying out to us, as it were, and that presents us with a choice. Whose invitation will we accept? The answer depends on whose will we wish to do. Jesus’ sheep listen to his voice and follow him. (John 10:16, 27) They are “on the side of the truth.” (John 18:37) “They do not know the voice of strangers.” (John 10:5) Such humble ones [obtain glory].—Prov. 9:23

So train your conscience well, and train yourself not only to hear it when it speaks, but also to seek out its advice on everyday mundane matters, and you will be using God’s gift to the full, making both yourself and God happy. (Acts 23:1; Ro 2:15; 2 Cor 1:12; 1 Tim 1:19; 1 Pet 3:21)