Goals and Conscience

Please open your Bible and read:
(Matthew 6:22 – 23 )

We’ve spent some time this week on the issue of goal – setting and how to accomplish what God has called us to do. We’ve also examined how to determine whether or not a goal is from the Lord. Dr. Stanley’s final word on the topic is simply this: a godly goal will never force you to violate your conscience.

This may seem like an obvious statement, but think about it for a minute. Most likely, there’s been a time or two when you honestly believed you were working toward the right goal. But in order to get there, you had to act in a way that caused a sting in your conscience. Whenever that happens, you can be sure God is not in that goal.

As we spend time in prayer and Bible study, the Holy Spirit weaves Himself in and through our conscience. It becomes a type of filter through which we process our behavior and decisions. So, whenever we do something that causes “static” in our conscience, that’s God’s way of telling us that we are stepping out of bounds – that we have left His path.

Our heavenly Father will never place a goal at the end of a godless trail. The only thing you will find there is heartache, disappointment, and regret. If reaching an objective requires you to violate your conscience, then watch out! You are headed where God has not called you, and you can trust that the goal is your own – not His. Your conscience is a God – given warning system. Learn to appreciate, and obey, the alerts it sends you.

About the Author
This devotional was written by Dr Charles Stanley. Read more about him here: http://www.talk.thelife.com/authors/charles-stanley

Related Reading
Striking a Balance: http://mentodayonline.com/workplace/balance.html

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One Response to “Goals and Conscience”

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• Max Baker says:

  May 31, 2010 at 6:43 am

  check out this tool for holistic goalsetting: http://www.goalscape.com – I have found nothing comparable!