I have been thinking a lot about the verse from Proverbs that says, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he."  What do you think that verse means?

Sincerely,
The Thinker

Dear The Thinker,

The verse you are referring to is Pr 23:7.  That verse is in the context of talking about someone with evil intent (Pr 23:6).  If a person with evil intent says something kind to you, that doesn’t change the fact that they are still your enemy.  What is in the mind/heart of a person defines who they really are.  God knows the thoughts and intentions of our hearts (Acts 1:24).  God doesn’t just want us to do what is right, but He wants us to WANT what is right.  What you think is who you really are.  Let our service to God be from the hidden depths of our heart (I Pet 3:4) and not merely lip-service (Matt 15:8).

You’ve often mention obeying your conscience on this website, but shouldn’t my conscience just conform to whatever the truth is?

Sincerely,
Mind Over Mind

Dear Mind Over Mind,

Your conscience is not a perfect guide, but offending it is not okay either.  Your conscience makes you feel bad when you do what you think is wrong, and it makes you feel good when you do what you think is right.  Notice how we emphasize ‘think’.  Your conscience is your mental guide in all matters moral, but it can be wrong.  Paul had a clear conscience his whole life (Acts 23:1), yet Paul also killed christians (Acts 26:10).  That is because Paul used to think that killing christians was a good thing (Acts 26:9).  “There is a way of a man that seems right, but the end is death” (Pr 14:12).

Your conscience is merely a compass; it will begin to point whatever way your knowledge tells it.  If you think killing christians is a good thing, you will feel good when you kill christians.  If you think killing christians is a bad thing, you will feel bad if you kill them.  Paul followed his conscience his whole life; it was his knowledge that changed.

Many people think they are serving God, but they will be sent to hell on the Day of Judgment (Matt 7:22-23).  Jesus made it clear that many people with clean consciences will end up in hell because their conscience was clear, but their minds and lives were corrupt.  We must fill our minds and lives with the Bible if we want a firm foundation we can trust (Matt 7:24-27).  It is only through God’s Word that we can have salvation; a clear conscience is not enough (Rom 1:16).

Having said that, it is important that we do have a clean conscience.  It is impossible to serve God without one.  Wicked people sear their conscience (1 Tim 4:2).  If you obey your conscience, you may do the wrong thing, but if you don’t obey your conscience, you will ALWAYS do the wrong thing.  If someone believes something is wrong and still does it, they are in for real problems.  It is always a sin to disobey your conscience (Rom 14:23).  A pure conscience is not the only requirement for service to God, but without it… you won’t go anywhere.

     I suffer from a disorder known as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in which I have to do a behavior or ritual (such as touching an object a certain number of times) to avoid something bad happening.  My personal fear is that if I don't do the ritual, I will subconsciously sell my soul to the devil and be condemned to hell.  My question is about if it is possible to sell your soul or lose it because of a possible thought or action, or is this concept just a contrivance of literature and cinema?  Thank you for your help.

Sincerely,
Driven

Dear Driven,

Take comfort – your eternal destiny isn’t dictated by how many times you perform a ritual of your own making.  Saying that you will go to hell for these rituals isn’t true any more than saying, “I’ll go to heaven by performing these rituals.”  We aren’t the final judge of our eternal home – Christ is (2 Tim 4:1).  We don’t get to dictate the terms of our relationship with God; God sets the standards for our salvation, and He put those rules in the Bible (2 Pet 1:3, Rom 10:17).  If you have done what Christ teaches you must do to be saved, you will go to heaven.  If you don’t, you won’t.  What personal rituals and traditions we perform have no bearing on the subject.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a real issue, and we know that it isn’t as simple as just being given an answer, and then the problem goes away.  So as you struggle with your fears, try and take comfort in the truth that God doesn’t use the same standards as we do (Isa 55:8-9).

Is it a sin to pierce your ears for earrings?

Sincerely,
An Ear For Wisdom

Dear An Ear For Wisdom,

Pierced ears are perfectly fine as long as they don’t make a man look effeminate (1 Cor 6:9 – see also “A Feminine Touch”) or make anyone look immodest (see “411 On The Bling Bling”).  Pierced ears have been around since at least the days of Moses (Ex 35:22).  God has no problem with pierced ears.  In fact, God uses earrings in the Proverbs, and they are mentioned in a purely positive light (Pr 25:12).  God also mentions earrings in Ezek 16:12 when describing how He clothed Israel in fine garments and jewelry (which included earrings).  Earrings and pierced ears are perfectly all right.

Are both cremation and burial acceptable per the Bible?  If we follow Jesus' example, shouldn't we all be entombed?

Sincerely, Ashes to Ashes

Dear Ashes to Ashes,

Both cremation and burial are acceptable Biblical practices. The Bible makes it clear that your body is merely a tent that is discarded at death (2 Cor 5:1-4). Peter recognized that at death we leave this ‘tent’ of a body behind (2 Pet 1:14). Ultimately, your physical body will return to dust and dirt (Gen 3:19).It may sound morbid, but cremation simply speeds along the natural process of decay that will occur to all bodies eventually.

Furthermore, we have at least one account of cremation occurring in the Old Testament. Saul and his sons were cremated after they died in battle (1 Sam 31:12). The men that cremated Saul and his sons were later commended by David for their behavior (2 Sam 2:5). That same verse in 2 Samuel shows that David considered cremation a form of burial.David’s endorsement of cremation as a godly practice is worth noting.

The Bible does not seem to place much focus on how someone is buried. God’s emphasis is upon how we live (Gal 2:20), not what is done with our body after we die.