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Jim McCrory

You Cannot Hide From a Bad Conscience

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“If you know the write way to live and you ignore it, it is a sin—plain and simple.”

James 4: 17 (The Voice Bible).



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Here is how the story goes. Peter Rabbit is warned not to go near Mr McGregor’s Garden. And what does he do? The opposite. So, Mr M returns and Petter is trembling like a …like a …well, bunny rabbit. He eventually gets home and is given some treats to shake off the fright and the bad conscience.

But, in real life, ban conscience doesn’t go away with treats. In fact, if you ignore a bad conscience, it will come and get you.

David, the Bible character tried to ignore his conscience after committing adultery. However, along came phase two, a local man, Nathan, came and told King David an interesting story. We can read about it

“There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor.  The rich man had a great number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food and drank from his cup; it slept in his arms and was like a daughter to him.

Now a traveler came to the rich man, who refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for his guest.” https://biblehub.com/bsb/2_samuel/12.htm

David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan: “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die! Because he has done this thing and has shown no pity, he must pay for the lamb four times over.”

You see, David never saw himself in the illustration. He was the man, but it wasn’t a sheep; it was another man’s dear wife.


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Jim McCrory

Is Your Beloved's Attention Straying Elsewhere?

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Edited by Jim McCrory, Friday, 3 Jan 2025, 13:06


"Fūki no tou, ai suru ko no kao shirazu"

"The grief of the wind and tree, not knowing the face of a beloved child."

Japanese proverb


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During my time in a European country with some Christian friends, I observed that one husband often turned to look at women who passed by. Eventually, I mentioned to his wife, "It seems challenging for some Christian men to resist looking at all these women around."

She responded, "They don’t look."

I bring this up to highlight that there can be early warning signs when you attach yourself to a partner who exhibits such characteristics. These signs can be red flags that things may not go well in the future.

The Bible principle in Matthew 5:28, which reads, "But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart," may seem outdated to some. However, it's worth considering the potential outcomes of disregarding this principle.

Imagine you marry a man you have fallen in love with, and two years later, you have a baby. Sometime afterward, he succumbs to the lure of internet dating sites. One evening, he comes home, packs his bags, and tells you he is leaving. The child, in a traumatic episode, clings to his father’s leg, screaming, "Don’t go, Daddy, don’t go."

As a former Christian shepherd, I have comforted partners on several occasions who have experienced such trauma. Not only are you left to raise a child in the aftermath, but as the child grows into adulthood, emotional scars can begin to surface. And the grown-up child has an ache that no medication can cure. 



The grief of the wind and tree, not knowing the face of a beloved child.

This saying warns against compromising one's moral standards, suggesting that such actions, like adultery, can blind one to the needs and wellbeing of those they most cherish.


Bible quotes from the BSB.


 


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