Use Your Conscience
by Dan Jones, M.D.
Romans 14:22-23
So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come .from faith is sin.
I was dealing with a particularly difficult issue in my practice. It was difficult for many reasons. It was a business issue and the business side of the practice was not as important to me as to some others in the practice. When I first raised the issue in a business meeting of our group, the explanations by others seemed rational, especially the part about it being a legal and common business practice. But, it continued to nag at my conscience as just not being the right thing to do. I never decided for sure that it was wrong, but finally decided there was enough doubt, that I should instruct the business manager I was not comfortable with this practice regarding my patients and asked that it be stopped as far as it concerned my portion of the business.
I’m not sure I read or recalled this passage from Romans as I dealt with this difficult decision. But it must have been in the back of my mind. I think it was just this kind of situation Paul had in mind when he advised the Christians in Rome about whether or not to eat certain foods. To simplify his message, if you have doubts that it may not be right, it’s not right for you.
So many of life’s difficult questions come to us without absolute guidance from the scriptures. So, we apply the Biblical principles and make decisions. To summarize from the previous thoughts in this series we should proceed cautiously to exercise our spiritual freedom when it might hurt others; we should seek to glorify God in all our decisions; and from this scripture in Romans we learn we should not violate our own conscience.
We do need to be careful not to judge others by this last principle. It only applies to our own decisions. If we are not certain of a particular position, but take it based on conscience, we need to be sure we don't impose that will on others. A good example of this is how we feel about different worship styles. I am uncomfortable in a worship service that elicits much spontaneous and loud participation from the worshippers. But this is not a matter of conscience. This is simply a difference in comfort level. It’s okay for me to seek quieter worship. But, I shouldn’t impose this preference on others.
Lord, thank you for giving me a conscience. Help me use it for good.
Dan Jones, M.D., MACP, FAHA, a board-certified Internist, a former medical missionary to Korea, professor of medicine at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine, Dean of the School of Medicine, and Chancellor of the University of Mississippi until 2015. Dr. Dan Jones is a member of CMDA.
Dr. Jones welcomes any comments or questions about what he has written and can be reached at - djones@umc.edu
Rounds with the Master, Spiritual Pearls from the Great Physician Devotionals are released every Monday and Thursday.
Photo by Kyle Glenn on Unsplash
