Are You Weakening Your Conscience?

I  heard about this man who was trying to eliminate the warnings his conscience was giving him concerning his disobedient actions. He consulted his doctor and said, "I've been misbehaving, Doc, and my conscience is troubling me," he complained. "And you want something that will strengthen your willpower?" asked the doctor. "Well, no," said the fellow. "I was thinking of something that would weaken my conscience."
We may not visit a doctor and ask to have our conscience weakened, but we may be making choices that are compromising our character.  Some may say, "Well, if my reckless decisions are only affecting me, what’s the big deal?"  The problem with that thinking is that our poor choices almost always have casualties, especially those closest to us.  Additionally, we constantly face challenges to our integrity, and if we have directly or indirectly weakened our conscience, then we will succumb to any evil solicitations or temptations.  Needless to say, we will not meet the moment of our testing.  However, if we actively seek God through prayer, reading Scripture, attending a solid Bible-teaching church, connecting in fellowship, and humbly living out what we learn, our conscience will be strengthened.
A great example of the benefits of having a strong conscience was David.  As we saw in a previous devotional writing, David was being pursued by Saul because he was overcome with jealousy and ego.  Saul wanted to preserve his throne at any cost, even if it meant killing David.  However, God allowed Saul to enter the very cave where David was hiding out.  David could've killed Saul while he was using the bathroom, but didn't.  What's ironic is that even cutting off a piece of Saul's robe and the men encouraging David to kill Saul didn't sit right with his conscience.
First Samuel 24:5-7 says, "But then David's conscience began bothering him because he had cut Saul's robe. 6 He said to his men, ‘The Lord forbid that I should do this to my lord the king. I shouldn't attack the Lord's anointed one, for the Lord himself has chosen him.’ 7 So David restrained his men and did not let them kill Saul."
Note that if David had a weak conscience, he would have listened to his men and killed Saul, essentially going against God's plan.   He was able to meet his moment of testing because his conscience wasn't compromised, and by God's grace and your efforts, you can do the same.