“Often, it is only by attending to our self-talk that we can see how we really understand the conscience. If our immediate inclination is that God wants us to ignore the truth of our lives or that God cannot handle the truth, this reveals we are already functioning moralistically apart from the gospel. . . . it is time to come out of hiding to draw near to Christ and seek him in the truth.”- Kyle Strobel and John Coe
“[The Gentiles] show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them.”- Romans 2:15 (ESV)
As Kyle Strobel and John Coe move on in Chapter 6 of When God Seems Distant, they note that when the apostle Paul describes how the conscience pangs, accusing and excusing thoughts escape from the heart. Above all, these thoughts consist of strategies employed by the fallen self. Strategies to:
- defend against the condemning nature of the conscience.
- feel better rather than turning to the one place can truly be found.
Most significantly, the authors stress, our strategies move in opposing directions — one self-accusation and the other self-defense. In addition, both strategies stem from deep beliefs. Beliefs that we can (a) manage sin in our own goodness and (b) instead of seeking the truth, we self-condemn or self-justify.
In conclusion, Kyle and John counsel:
“What becomes difficult for some is that the conscience can be seared (1 Timothy 4:2). Sometimes a seared conscience does not pang at all, and a person loses the sense of living in rebellion. The person becomes numb to their sin. A seared accusatory conscience is debilitating . . . [and] often leads a person to moralistically silence this unappeasable voice, living a kind of despairing life and never feeling release.”
Today’s question: What helps you in attending to your self-talk? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Simply better versions of ourselves?”