There is this little voice inside us that starts shouting hysterically when we encounter something we know to be wrong.

It’s our conscience and it’s a good thing.

It’s that little funny feeling that we develop through culture and guidance that warns us when we’re doing something that, for years, has been drilled into us as being “wrong.” Our conscience is a wonderful invention by our Creator.

But you have to train it for it to work as intended.

Without proper training you can usually get by okay with your conscience on its default setting. You’ll get by thanks to lessons from your parents (direct or indirect), examples set by teachers and observations from older people. More often than not society itself will steer you away from most terrible things you might otherwise do (killing people, kicking puppies, etc).

But a conscience on its default setting is not the optimal conscience.

You need that bad boy trained by the Expert: The Word of God.

Through a proper study of God’s word, we can learn what things are right, what things are wrong, and what things don’t matter…not on a worldly level, not according to society’s standards, not even based on what mom and day say or think, but determined entirely by what God has said. And since God is the only PERFECT source, a conscience that follows Him will be operating at a peak level.

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There is this little voice inside us that starts shouting hysterically when we encounter something we have never experienced before.

That’s our conscience and it’s a bad thing.

It’s that little funny feeling that we develop through culture and guidance that warns us when we see something that is new or different or not the way something is ordinarily done. And we, being creatures of habit, tend to, as our first instinct, balk at it and say “no that’s wrong, it’s supposed to be like this” because “like this” is shorthand for “the way I’ve always known it.”

That’s the sign of a sub-optimal conscience. That’s the sign of a conscious that’s not been trained by the Word of God. And the fault lies with the individual for not studying the Bible like they should, it lies with the preacher for not teaching the Bible like he should, and it lies with the eldership for not guiding the sheep like they should, to know the difference between law and opinion, and when to keep your opinions to yourself (which is, 99% of the time, all the time).

Be careful that you don’t confuse something unusual with something wrong. And be DOUBLY-careful that you don’t call something unusual “unBiblical.” Because if it’s not unBiblical and you said it was and tried to bind that opinion on others, then you will have a place prepared for you in the Lake of Fire.