OPTIMAL LIVING

Life Design

Fine-Tune Your Conscience typography

Work out your spiritual muscle using the AHA approach.

By Delbert Baker
With a well-grounded conscience, you will have an internal moral GPS that will help to guide you to a life of trust in Christ, spiritual growth, and good works. Under divine influence, your conscience can lead you to a life of purpose, fulfillment and ultimately life eternal.

What then, is the pathway to upgrade our conscience and lead to a more abundant life? In short, through personal understanding of conscience and an “AHA” approach for its development.

Personal Understanding
The foundational understanding necessary for conscience development is twofold. First, recognize conscience is an internal source that God uses to impress you with what are true and sound life principles to follow. Second, appreciate that conscience has to do with the ways and means the Holy Spirit partners with us to perform and live out God’s purpose for us. Conscience is how we work out our salvation with sincerity and humility (Philippians 2:12-13). More than an internal instinct, feeling or sense, our conscience is the spiritual muscle that causes us to grow in knowledge and grace.
AHA Approach

Practically, we cooperate with God in the AHA development of our conscience by:

Assessing our
conscience’s
sensitivity

One must honestly evaluate how he or she prioritizes and receives authentic biblical truth, and receives and aligns with that truth consistently. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17). “Light comes to the soul through God’s word, through His servants, or by the direct agency of His Spirit.” 1

Habituating
listening

How do we respond to, and affirm our conscience? When exposed to truth, or given opportunity to obtain truth, do we appreciate and immediately receive, embrace, and practice it? When one positively responds to truth, the conscience is strengthened. Alternately, “when one ray of light [truth] is disregarded, there is a partial benumbing of the spiritual perceptions.” 2

Actualizing and purposely implementing truth with energy and enthusiasm.

Actualizing and purposely implementing truth with energy and enthusiasm. Through our sentient choice and Holy Spirit power, we unitedly upgrade our conscience to realize spiritual revitalization. We are tuned in to hear the voice of the Spirit saying, “this is the way and truth, walk in it now, always!” (Isaiah 3:21). After conviction, we do not hesitate, doubt or “stop to argue the case with your weak conscience.” 3

Photo by Adobe Stock

White, E. G. (1898) The Desire of Ages. Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Publishing Association.

White, E. G. (1923) Counsels on Health. Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Publishing Association.

DELBERT BAKER, PH,D. is an international educator with a broad worldview and an astute observer of human nature. He has degrees in theology, history, counseling and administration with a Master of Divinity, PhD in Organizational Communication, and is a certified Executive Leadership Coach.
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