Conscience Confusion

My favourite Devotional reads today…
“We all have a conscience, whether we like it or not. It's that little--often irritating--voice inside that tells us we're about to go somewhere or do something we shouldn't. However, our conscience is a gift from God to guide us into the best life we can live and to reassure us of our salvation.”

My heart is also sickened as I read more about Jeremy and J.R. that were involved in killing her parents and brother. She was convicted last year and is in a psychiatric institution before she is released to the community. Jeremy’s trial is on now and the details are being rehearsed again.

The crime happened in Medicine Hat, Alberta – April 23, 2006. Jeremy was 22 years old and J.R. was 12. He was her boyfriend. He was also a self acclaimed 300 year old werewolf. Marc and Debra Richardson, J.R.’s parents had grounded her and flat out prohibited her to see this Jeremy any more…. So with Jeremy’s help J.R. got her final way – by killing her hateful parents and her little brother.

Under the Youth Criminal Justice Act the name of the daughter could no longer be published in Canada after she became a suspect. Under the same act, twelve is the lowest possible age a person can be charged, persons under fourteen cannot be sentenced as adults, and cannot be given more than a ten year sentence (an adult could face a life sentence).

I think that the entire community of Canada is sickened by the fact that two young people, one 22 and the other 12, have no conscience. How could they do such a thing and then sit in a restaurant an hour later, eating, laughing and having a good time? In the few hours they needed to have a few hours to get washed and cleaned up after the bloody mess they had been in.

More and more my police friends are telling me about the horror that they are facing. This next generation coming along and also the present one that they are coming from “have no conscience”. They do not have an answer as to why from what I have heard… but they see the results of what no conscience produces.

I thank God that my grandson felt as guilty as all get out. When he did something wrong and I asked him what had happened. He dropped his eyes and confessed that he had messed up. He almost choked up as he said he was sorry for his wrong doing.

The tears that he has are pure gold in my thinking. It indicates that he is not one of the statistics that are showing up in the police office files.

Yet as I say that, not many people in our community will murder someone. But they will steal something from a store. “The store owner is rich and I am poor – so I will take it… I have little and he has lots… so I deserve it..”

It disturbs me when I see the stories, here the accounts and know that it is so very true.

Much more than that… it is possible in my own life. I can steal, I can lie and I can commit terrible crimes – potentially. Often it is only one step away. The difference is conscience.

The Bible has some wonderful words that guide us. One set of words reads… in 1 John 3:19-22
19 This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20 whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.

The fact that it talks about “condemning us” makes most uncomfortable. We don’t like to be condemned for what we do. We do what we do – just because and it is our business no one else’s… and to have someone condemn us is not fair.

Maybe id Jeremy and J.R. had been a place to read the Bible and make it part of their lives…maybe it would have been different. But the Bible is so “old fashioned” – don’t you think?

God help me today to be better with my example. Help me to live 100%. Then maybe someone will want what I have and live according to what they see… or read… or hear about.

Today I must work on my Conscience and support what is right… avoid what is wrong. Today I am an example. What about you?

~ Murray Lincoln ~

Sources:
Jeremy Allan Steinke
http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/city/story.html?id=067e0a55-f6ef-4658-a528-8e04c443c47b&p=1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richardson_family_murders
Jeremy and J.R.
http://pysih.com/2007/06/21/jeremy-allan-steinke-and-jasmine-richardson/
Scripture:
1 John 3:19-22
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20John%203:19-22&version=31