Yesterday, I went to get king cakes for my family. When I arrived back at work, I looked at the receipt and noticed that I mistakenly was not charged for one of the king cakes. I was already over on time for my lunch so I was not going all the way back out there to pay for one cake… but I wrestled with that decision ALL DAY and ALL NIGHT. It was as if I was a character in a cartoon, where the scene played on the screen over and over again. The Lord was on one shoulder saying “Do what’s right” and the devil was on the other saying, “Girl, you better take that as a blessing!”
We all have a conscience and our conscience gives us an awareness of what is right and what is wrong. Even when we do wrong, knowingly or unknowingly, God provides a way for us to have our conscience cleared. 1 John 1:9 says that, “If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” With that confession we are held accountable to make things right with God first and then with the people we wronged.
So, today, I’m going back to the king cake place and pay for that king cake. No, the people would never know but God knows and in order for us to have a clear conscience, we must follow the Holy Spirit’s leading and not just say we are Christians but show that we are by obeying God because when the dust settles, I want God to be pleased with me and my conscience to be clear. And the only way to do that is to fess up when we mess up, accept God’s forgiveness and do what’s right.
