Wednesday, June 23, 2021

“The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith.” (1 Timothy 1:5, New Living Translation)

 {Susan is getting her second knee replacement tomorrow, Thursday. Please keep her in your prayers.}

                 My new Subaru Forrester is a nagging, back-seat driver.

                In mid March, I changed my 2018 car for this 2021 version. It is much the same vehicle except it came with a whole bevy of updated, mostly technical features. They are mainly in the area of “driver assistance”. “Driver assistance” is a polite way to say nagging, back-seat driver.

                The car beeps at me if I veer over the lane. It warns me when a car has pulled in front of me on the highway, even if it is way ahead of me. It beeps at me if I go through a yellow light. It helps me keep a safe distance between myself and the car ahead of me by slowing me down, without me applying the brakes. If I am at a stop sign and there is a car ahead of me, when that car moves forward and I am slow to react, it politely messages me that the car ahead had moved. In other words, “Move it, you dummy!” It tells me to look in the back seat before I get out of the car, lest I leave a child or a puppy or a bag of groceries, I presume. I am not sure that I have yet discovered all the “very helpful” advisory components. The car will let me know.

                It’s like having a 2000-pound, mobile conscience.

                It used to be said, “let your conscience be your guide.” But I am not sure that this is adequate advice. It could turn out to be very self-serving, depending on the sort of conscience one has. Good morality is not necessarily innate. It also has to be taught, nurtured, coaxed, used, honed, developed to be effective. It would be great to have a moral “driver assistance” installed in my brain, but that’s not how it works in real life.

                But there are many helpful directives which arise out scripture, too many to go into here. Of course, one has to read the Bible to begin with to sort out the counsel and guidance that is there. I keep meaning to read my car’s manual to figure out exactly what my car can do. So it is, to lead a significant way for living a Christian life – read the manual, the Bible.

Paul’s letters are full of insight, practical advice and useful instruction for effective, moral persuasion. Yes, we have to think them through, interpret, ponder their meaning and relevance. But Paul’s aim was always for his readers to allow Christly Love to lead our consciences. “By rejecting conscience,” he wrote, “certain persons have suffered shipwreck in the faith.” (1 Timothy 1:19 New Revised Standard Version)

“Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.” (Philippians 4: 8-9, The Message Bible)

Beep, beep; get back in your lane!

Dale