LightGrams
March 6, 2025
Volume 29, Number 10
A service station was robbed in the Dutch town of Terneuzen on January 18, 2016. The cashier on duty was able to give police a detailed description of the thief and an investigation was launched. But for nine years the case remained unsolved with no arrests made.
Recently a 28-year-old man turned himself in to the police and confessed that he was the robber. He also expressed his desire to repay what he had stolen, an amount described as “a few hundred euros”, a significant sum of money. Authorities were happy to announce that the case had been solved, though prosecutors have not yet decided how they will deal with the confessed thief.
How was the case solved? The “man who now lives in Arnhem probably had a guilty conscience and recently handed himself in to police in his hometown,” the Yahoo News story reported. Had the man’s conscience not weighed on him, the case might have remained unsolved.
The conscience might be compared to a smoke alarm that goes off when potential danger is detected. The alarm is uncomfortable, sometimes painful, and it prompts us to take corrective action. Though we may defiantly refuse to do what’s right, the alarm keeps disturbing us.
In Psalm 32:3,4 David described the effect of trying to ignore his conscience: “When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me …” David was likely referring to the time after his affair with Bathsheba and his frantic attempts to cover up his sins. He even had Bathsheba’s husband killed in battle to cover his tracks!
We don’t know how long David’s conscience troubled him, but we know when he “came clean”. After the prophet Nathan exposed David’s sordid sins, the king responded: “I have sinned against the Lord” (1 Samuel 12:13). Though his sins could have led to the death penalty, Nathan responded, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die” (1 Samuel 12:13), though consequences would follow.
It’s important that we not remove the batteries from smoke alarms when they awake us at night. It’s also important to heed the heavy warnings we receive from our conscience: “Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith” (1 Timothy 1:5). A good conscience allows us to sleep at night, to feel peace instead of heaviness.
Did the Dutch fellow make a good decision? Apparently, he learned that time would never ease the guilt he felt from his crime. The only solution was to confess and accept whatever consequences might follow. The same could be said of King David who wrote in Psalm 32:1,2: “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.” Peace. Blessed peace of mind!
Is it time for you and me to do a conscience check? Are we being called to “come clean”?
Come to the light God offers! Study His word, the Bible. Worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). Get in touch with us if you’d like to discuss these ideas further.
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Copyright, 2025, Timothy D. Hall. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from the New King James Version (Copyright, 1990, Thomas Nelson, Inc.).
“LightGrams” is produced by the Central Church of Christ, 2722 Oakland Avenue, Johnson City, Tennessee, 37601, and is written by Tim Hall, minister. It is sent free of charge every Thursday to all who request it. To subscribe or to receive more information, write to “[email protected]” (our E-mail address), to the U.S. mail address above, or call (423) 282-1571.
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