The early morning crash of a Brink’s armored truck on a Miami highway in January held up a mirror to our nation’s cultural decline. While the driver and a fellow Brink’s officer lay bruised and bleeding, a festive atmosphere broke loose outside the truck as thousands of dollars blew n the breeze.

Motorists stopped in rush hour traffic, then scooped up cash before resuming their commutes to the office. Thousands of crisp bills and shiny coins rained down an overpass onto a Miami neighborhood. Below, mothers with babies grabbed coins and piled them into strollers. An elderly woman filled a box. A young school girl dumped her book bag and loaded it with coins and bills.

Onlookers and participants had plenty of justifications and rationalizations.

“Which is more moral,? asked one resident of the impoverished neighborhood, ‘to return the money and leave your children improvised-or maybe send them to college and enrich the family for generations”‘

“We deserve a little something,? said another.

“The Lord was willing for it to happen here,? one man commented. ‘there’s a lot of poverty. It was a miracle.’

Police estimated that more than 100 people helped themselves to money during the melee. Middle class on their way to work made off with thousands.

Was this a shocking event? It shouldn’t have been. What happened in Miami was born out of a cultural drift that has left us unsure of absolute right and wrong or at least unwilling to live by such a code. We reward rule-breakers and ridicule those who extol morality. Life’s ultimate reward is money and having it is the end to our worries.

Maybe the Miami incident says more about character than we care to consider.

There were some heroes on that day in Miami. Several people came forward and turned money over to authorities.

“I have children, and I needed to set a good example,? said Faye McFadden, a mother who earns $5.00 an hour at a department store. “It was important for me to do what I felt was right.’

Herbert Tarvin, 11, came forward after his teacher at St. Francis Xavier Elementary School lectured students about making the right decision. He went to police with 85 cents.

“I knew it was wrong for me to keep anything,? Herbert told a television reporter, “and I knew if I kept it I would have been stealing.’

Manny Rodriguez, a firefighter who recovered a bag containing $330,000 in cash, summed things up pretty well.

“People were almost killed in that truck and people are calling it a blessing from God. That wasn’t a blessing; it was a test. The rich, the poor, the middle class-everybody should have a conscience.?

The trouble with the advice, “Follow your conscience” is that most people follow it like someone following a wheelbarrow—they direct it wherever they want it to go, and then follow behind.

Conscience tells us that we ought to do right, but it does not tell us what right is—that we are taught by God’s word.

Did you know that ever since 1811 (when someone who had defrauded the government anonymously sent $5 to Washington D.C.) the U.S. Treasury has operated a Conscience Fund? Since that time almost $3.5 million has been received from guilt-ridden citizens.

Myself

I have to live with myself, and so I want to be fit for myself to know, I want to be able, as days go by, Always to look myself straight in the eye;

I don’t want to stand, with the setting sun, And hate myself for the things I’ve done.
I don’t want to keep on the closet shelf A lot of secrets about myself, And fool myself, as I come and go, Into thinking that nobody else will know The kind of a man I really am; I don’t want to dress up myself in sham.

I want to go out with my head erect, I want to deserve all men’s respect; But here in the struggle for fame and pelf I want to be able to like myself.

I don’t want to look at myself and know That I’m bluster and bluff and empty show. I can never hide myself from me; I see what others may never see;

I know what others may never know, I never can fool myself, and so, Whatever happens, I want to be
Self-respecting and conscience free. Edgar Guest

Once we assuage our conscience by calling something a “necessary evil,” it begins to look more and more necessary and less and less evil. – Sidney J. Harris

Conscience is that faculty in me which attaches itself to the highest that I know, and tells me what the highest I know demands that I do. It is the eye of the soul which looks out either toward God or toward what it regards as the highest authority. If I am in the habit of steadily facing toward God, my conscience will always introduce God’s perfect law and indicate what I should do. The point is, will I obey? I have to make an effort to keep my conscience so sensitive that I walk without offense. I should be living in such perfect sympathy with God’s Son that in every circumstance the spirit of my mind is renewed.

The one thing that keeps the conscience sensitive to Him is the habit of being open to God on the inside. When there is any debate, quit. There is no debate possible when conscience speaks. – Oswald Chambers

What is conscience and why is it important? Conscience is the inner sense of right and wrong that guides our actions and choices. It helps us to act in accordance with our moral values and to avoid harming others or ourselves. But what are moral values and where do they come from? Morality is the system of principles and rules that governs our behavior and judgments in relation to ourselves, others, and the world. Morality can have different sources, such as nature, reason, emotion, intuition, tradition, culture, religion, or law.

Conscience is not a fixed or universal concept, but rather a dynamic and personal one that can vary depending on these sources of morality. Conscience can also change over time as we learn from our mistakes and grow as human beings. Conscience plays a vital role in our ethical decision-making and moral behavior. It helps us to evaluate the consequences of our actions and to choose the best course of action in different situations. Conscience also motivates us to act on our moral convictions and to stand up for what we believe in. Conscience can also help us to cope with guilt, remorse, or regret when we fail to live up to our moral standards or when we harm others or ourselves.

Conscience is not always easy to follow or to understand. Sometimes we may face dilemmas or conflicts between our conscience and other factors, such as social pressure, self-interest, or emotions. Sometimes we may ignore or suppress our conscience because we fear the consequences of acting on it or because we rationalize our immoral behavior. Sometimes we may have doubts or uncertainties about what our conscience is telling us or whether it is reliable or accurate.

Conscience is not a perfect or infallible guide, but rather a fallible and imperfect one that requires constant reflection and evaluation. We need to examine our conscience regularly and critically, and to seek feedback from others who can help us to clarify our moral values and judgments. We also need to educate and inform our conscience by learning from various sources of moral wisdom, such as philosophy, religion, literature, history, science, and art. We also need to respect and appreciate the diversity of conscience among different people and cultures, and to engage in dialogue and cooperation with them.

Conscience is a precious and powerful gift that makes us human and moral beings. It enables us to act with integrity, responsibility, compassion, and justice. It also challenges us to grow and improve as individuals and as members of society. Conscience is not something that we have, but something that we are.