In my previous post I discussed dealing with a “bad egg” in any kind of group setting where power and politics are involved. I supposed one way to define a bad egg is someone who has discarded their conscience so to speak. While the New Testament states that a good conscience is essential along with faith and a pure heart (1Timothy 1:5), keeping your conscience can be seen as a weaknesses in political struggles. Perhaps it’s possible to have such a sensitive conscience that you can hardly get anything done in your life, but generally it’s important to have a conscience and know what lines not to cross.
However, as they say, power corrupts, and thus one needs to be careful even in the realm of religion and Christianity. That is to say, it’s not the Christianity that corrupts, but the power within religion. Furthermore, if you get caught up in the intrigues, or become a victim, the temptation is to bite back and lose your conscience by stooping to the same tactics of deceit and slander.
The problem with losing your conscience is that I believe you lose some of your humanity. You lose the potential to have true joy. We can all obtain happiness and pleasure, but spiritual joy comes from overcoming and not letting yourself be dragged in. I guess it’s what the psalm means when he says “I will not walk in the counsel of the wicked” -he won’t join in with they’re tactics. But this is probably one of life’s challenges, especially if you’re continually provoked.
Within a democracy ideally there are checks and balances, an open media and sometimes the concept of a conscience when dealing with certain issues. This is definitely something worth striving for within society and it’s an openness that I believe is important within a church environment as well.
So, you have to protect your own heart and be on your guard for those who seem to have no conscience (and it’s probably not easy to tell). Those who seem to live as if the ends justify the means.
