The Bible is fairly straightforward regarding basic matters of morality but when it comes to the more murkier areas of life, that is largely where discernment comes in. But not all areas of morality are matters of absolute law, there is the morality of the conscience (1 Corinthians 8; Romans 14). And this latter morality seems to be subjective rather than objective:
Clearly there is nothing objectively wrong with eating meat but what makes it wrong in this case seems to be the conscience.
My question is--how do you practically determine, outside of the black and white areas, what's right and what's wrong? How does your own personal conscience factor into your decision making processes? I am specifically interested in your methodology--do you just go with a gut instinct, do you debate it in your head, do you discuss it with others, do you figure it out in a pros and cons chart, do you review what you know from the Bible and attempt to figure it out from there, etc. And if you feel comfortable talking about it, do you think you have a strong or a weak conscience?
And to get the ball rolling, here's a concrete example (you might discuss your methodology in terms of how you would deal with this situation):
You make minimum wage as a convenience store clerk. A man comes up to the counter with a dirty magazine. You are against it but you are unsure if it would be a violation if you process the transaction. How do you proceed? (This example could apply to a large number of service jobs where you aren't directly obtaining or promoting anything but are just one link in a large chain).
One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. (Romans 14:2).
Clearly there is nothing objectively wrong with eating meat but what makes it wrong in this case seems to be the conscience.
My question is--how do you practically determine, outside of the black and white areas, what's right and what's wrong? How does your own personal conscience factor into your decision making processes? I am specifically interested in your methodology--do you just go with a gut instinct, do you debate it in your head, do you discuss it with others, do you figure it out in a pros and cons chart, do you review what you know from the Bible and attempt to figure it out from there, etc. And if you feel comfortable talking about it, do you think you have a strong or a weak conscience?
And to get the ball rolling, here's a concrete example (you might discuss your methodology in terms of how you would deal with this situation):
You make minimum wage as a convenience store clerk. A man comes up to the counter with a dirty magazine. You are against it but you are unsure if it would be a violation if you process the transaction. How do you proceed? (This example could apply to a large number of service jobs where you aren't directly obtaining or promoting anything but are just one link in a large chain).
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