A Little Bit of Bark

A Greek historian once said,

There is no witness so dreadful, no accuser so terrible as the conscience that dwells in the heart of every man.”

For the most part he was right, but on the other hand, he may have overlooked what scripture a seared conscience.

On our property there is a huge evergreen bush, standing like a sentry on the side of driveway. When it snows, it is transformed into a beautiful snow globe, and in the summer it is lush and green and home to many creatures. This year however, I noticed a large portion of the evergreen branches had turned a brown. On further inspection (and some interrogation), I found out that my younger sisters had cut away a circle of bark away from the base of a few branches. They used the bark to make old-fashioned parchment paper and unknowingly damaged the evergreen severely. You see, bark is an important factor in the life of a tree. Not only does it keep bugs and the elements out, it transmits nutrients to other parts of the tree. By cutting a ring of bark off, the nutrients are cut off, causing the branch to die.

When I saw this, I couldn’t help but think of our consciences. The conscious is a big part of our human makeup, and when we take little nicks out of it, it starts to die. Soon we end up with a dead conscience, and nothing to warn us that we are doing wrong.

The cutting or searing of the conscience is not a matter to be taken lightly. When asked the question “Have you ever told a lie?” most people say “Well, it was only a little lie! It didn’t really hurt anyone!” How many times do you have to lie to be a liar? How much do you have to steal to become a thief?

Your conscience is a moral lawgiver. When someone asks you the question, “Have you ever stolen anything?” often times people go into defense mode and excuse their sin or say, I’m not really a bad person. In essence they are pulling off some of the protective bark of their conscious and slowly searing it until it is too late. If our ‘œworst judge’ is no longer telling us right from wrong, what kind of judge is it?

If you have a dead conscience, you can only ask God to restore it to you. If you realize that you have been making excuses for your sin, repent and your conscience will grow tender again. A tree can survive with a little of its bark off, but when there is a ring cut all the way around the trunk, it dies. The only way that it can be healed, is if someone cares for it by wrapping the trunk with tape.

God loves us so much, that no matter what kind of sin we have committed, He can clear our conscience of it. That is the reason why He sent his son Jesus to die for our sins. He will wrap us His arms around us and care for us when we confess our sins to Him.

2 Corinthians 5: 10-11

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience.”