Second Friday in Lent.
THE RELAXED CONSCIENCE.
1. The Relaxed Conscience is that sluggish and careless Conscience which allows itself to be ruled or influenced in its determinations by the voice of public opinion, or by the supposed interests of the person present or future.
In the matter of religion idolatry is mortally sinful, for it is the making by man of a religion for himself instead of accepting one from God. A man is as truly an idolater when he fashions for himself a sect, as when he makes a graven image. No man has any right to invent doctrines, and establish a ministry of himself. Such religion isfrom below, whereas the divine religion is a revelationfrom above.
Precisely so is it with regard to morality. No man must seek for the moral sanction in the voice of public opinion, or in anythingbelow. He must seek itabove, in the revealed Will of God.
Thus a Relaxed Conscience, that is governed by the public voice, by the press, by private personal interest, dethrones God from His place as Lawgiver, and sets up public opinion or personal interest in His room. It does not seek its sanction in Heaven, but on earth.
As men make to themselves gods to worship, and sects and doctrines, so do men make to themselves laws of ethics. He who worships and believes in such gods and such doctrines as suit him is an idolater, or a heretic, and he who obeys only such moral laws as suit him is every whit as much in sin.
2. Now very few persons making any profession of religion deliberately relax their Consciences, and submit them to the earth-born law of right and wrong. They far more commonly allow it unconsciously to modify their views of right and wrong to suit their own convenience. They take God’s Commandments, and pare and shape till they have fitted them to their low ideas, and accommodated them to their practice.
This is not done all at once, and openly, but is a gradual process which, unless guarded against, will deaden the Conscience till its voice is no longer heard proclaiming any other law than the commonplace maxims of mundane morality. This relaxed Conscience, being in error, more or less voluntarily permitted, can no longer serve as a guide to conduct. On the slightest motives it is ready to permit what is not really allowed by God’s law, and to regard mortal sins as venial offences.
3. The Scrupulous Conscience exaggerated trifles; made mountains out of molehills. The Relaxed Conscience minimises great things, and reduces mountains to molehills.
4. There is but a soleremedyfor a Relaxed Conscience, and that is to replace God on His throne as Supreme Lawgiver, and to bow down to and worship Him alone. Instead of our taking His law, and trimming it to fit public opinion and self-interest, we must make His Will paramount, and test everything by that. Every act must be brought to, and tried by themeasure of the Sanctuary, and what falls short must be rejected. In such a matter there can be no compromise between God and mammon; God must reign, not supreme only, butalone, as the Lawgiver, to Whom Conscience looks up, and Conscience must answer His voice, and not the voice of the world, and turn to that for direction. No man can serve two masters; either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Observe this injunction of Christ. He speaks ofmastersgiving orders to their servants, and of obedience to command in the servants. The Conscience is servant; itmustobey God or the world; it cannot serve both. In the effort to serve both it becomes relaxed and useless.
Simple Maltese Cross