Let Personal Values Rein in Personal Ambition

We often experience situations that challenge our value system and which in turn threaten our inner peace. Being faced with options to participate in unethical practices leaves some individuals momentarily tempted. Personal ambition plays a major role in how internal conflict is managed.

 

You may choose to permit ambition to override your personal values. Scottish philosopher Thomas Carlyle identified ambition as temptation to sin because of the drive to be successful. Alexander Pope remarked that “Ambition can save or destroy.” Whether ambition works for good or evil is determined by personal choice.

Striving to achieve all that’s possible is regulated by personal values.  If unbridled ambition collides with values guarding your inner peace and conscience, the consequences can be disturbing. Let the Apostle Paul’s testimony be your objective: “I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.” This is possible when the Holy Spirit guides your choices. 

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I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;

I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.

Do not be like the horse or the mule,

Which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.

~Psalm 32:8-9 New International Version

Your Conscience: God's Inner Voice - Part 3

Andrei Sakharov, the decorated Soviet physicist, believed his work would ensure peace and protection for his country. He later came to believe that nuclear testing was destructive and dangerous to the human race. Because of this change in critical thinking, he was forced to live in isolation for eighteen years.

Andrei Sakharov listened to the voice of his conscience and stood up for what he believed. His faith in common people and the power of reason made him a hero to people everywhere. When a person listens to his or her conscience, appropriate conduct usually follows.

Andrei Sakharov won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975, and by the time of his death, democracy had engulfed some of the communist nations. Jesus’ determination to do the will of God cost him his life but made possible our redemption from sin. God blesses those who resist the temptation to cave in to the external pressures of the world and choose instead to abide by the inner voice of their conscience.  

Your Conscience: God's Inner Voice - Part 2

What is the conscience and what role does it play in determining conduct? The conscience functions as an inner voice, pointing out the best possible moral good for ourselves and others. It recalls what is ethical and appropriate by directing us to choose what is truly good, with the goal of learning to enjoy these choices.

Thomas Aquinas, the thirteenth century Italian theologian, wrote that happiness is not equivalent to wealth, power or pleasure. Happiness involves a life full of things that human beings need in the right order and in the right proportion. The purpose of conscience is to help us avoid guilt.

Joseph, the son of Jacob and Rachael, maintained his moral principles even under disastrous circumstances. He made critical decisions based upon what his conscience urged him to do. The voice of conscience directs you to consider the long-term effects of your choices. Are they compatible with what is right, good, and godly? God encourages choices that reflect his highest purpose for your life. 

A Clear Conscience: Essential for Self-Respect - Part 3

What is the relationship between your conscience, the values you keep, and self-respect? I read an article about a young police officer who was assigned to drug enforcement. He served earnestly until, in a moment of weakness, he experimented with cocaine, which in turn evolved into a full-fledged addiction. He disregarded his conscience, which cheapened his self-respect.

What went wrong with his conscience that allowed this officer to take such a drastic turn in his behavior? He was aware of the consequences he’d experience later down the road. Why didn’t his conscience stop him from experimenting with cocaine in the first place? Surely his conscience made him aware of the wrong choices he was making.

Obviously, your conscience can be over-ridden and denied the power to stop disaster. Even so, your conscience doesn’t give up because God uses it to help you turn away from sin, even when self-respect is stuck in the gutter. Jesus is interested in your redemption and beckons you to turn around and come back to him, so why not do it now? 

A Clear Conscience: Essential for Self-Respect - Part 1

Samuel served as the last judge for Israel. He was also a prophet, a man of faith and loyalty who founded the first school for young prophets and preacher boys. He led his people through a transition from a theocracy rule to a monarchy rule because the people demanded a king. Samuel anointed Saul and David, Israel’s first two kings.

In 1 Samuel 8:7 God directed Samuel to comply with the people’s demands. These are God’s words to Samuel: “Listen to what the people are saying; it is not you they have rejected. They have rejected me as their king.” Samuel was respected by the people because he was a man of character. Still they were determined to have a king.

Faith requires action, and action based on strong moral character is sustained by faith. Samuel, as a man of faith, remained true to his word and commitments. He never looked for special favors because that would have diminished his self-respect. His life was an open book. Samuel could be a mentor for each of us to follow.  

Conscience, Your Inner Voice: To Heed or Not To Heed? - Part 2

The inner voice of conscience is alive and alert, even when a person's wants, desires, and passions speak so loudly that it can no longer be heard. To live with a clear conscience is to harmonize your integrity with your thought patterns and behavior. Listen to the Apostle Paul's words from Acts 24:16 regarding his conscience. "I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man."

The conscience is an alarm system that warns of imminent danger. The voice of conscience is persistent since its mission is to bring us to confession and repentance for violations and sinful choices. Failure to heed your conscience may seem OK initially, but disregarding this voice can be devastating.

God will restore and renew a damaged integrity and conscience so you can experience peace with him and fellowship with Christ Jesus as well as peace with those who love you. Choosing the path of positive change is not always easy, but the Holy Spirit makes a way to do so when you are willing to ask for help. Would you give this a chance to work for you?