Be Unconscionable

“To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled.”
— Titus 1:15

Let your conscience be your guide and you will end up stuck in the ditch!

Genesis 1:31 says, “Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.” Nothing God made was lacking. Nothing was incomplete. Nothing was in need of improvement. Yet, God did not create man with a conscience. We chose that for ourselves. And we often defer to it over God’s word to our own demise.

We like to think of our conscience as Jiminy Cricket in Disney’s 1940 animated film Pinocchio. We think of it as that little voice that follows us around and advises from time to time, “I wouldn’t do that if I was you!” That voice that warns us of trouble and bad decisions.

Yet, for me, my conscience has often been closer to the reality of me being a wooden boy and it being a termite. I often find myself screaming internally, “My conscience is eating me!” It bores through my mind. It eats me alive. And often, it is fear driven rather than being driven by anything for my good.

In Titus 1:15 we discover, “To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled.” But how can this be when we are encouraged to let our conscience be our guide?

The reality is, God did not create us with a conscience! We chose that for ourselves.

If we go back to the Garden of Eden, we find Adam and Eve. They had only one rule to follow. Anything else they did was pure. The only rule they had to follow was, “And the Lord God commanded the man saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat…’” (Genesis 2:16-17)

What does the word conscience mean? It is the prefix “con-“ which means “with” and the root word “science” which means “knowledge.” When Adam and Eve at from the tree they acquired a conscience. They were now “with knowledge.” The moment they ate, “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked…” (Genesis 3:7)

They weren’t blind before they ate. They saw each other the same. They just didn’t have the knowledge of evil. They had never looked upon each other and had thoughts of good AND evil. They now had knowledge. They chose a conscience.

The problem is that our conscience can be defiled. It can be “seared with a hot iron” as in the great apostasy Paul warned of in 1 Timothy 4:1-5. It changes over time. What is acceptable today was unconscionable a few generations ago. And what was acceptable then is unconscionable today. It changes with the culture.

We were never created to be led by our conscience! We are called to be led by the Spirit of God! “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” (Romans 8:14)

Is your conscience eating you today? Is it telling you everything is fine? Both can be a lie. The only question that matters is; what is the Lord speaking into your life? What does He say? Where is He leading?

Be unconscionable today! Don’t follow your conscience. Seek the Lord’s voice and direction. We were created to walk with God. We were not created to walk in the “wisdom” of our own knowledge. The only knowledge that matters is to know God and make Him known.


© 2026 Warren Martin. All rights Reserved.