Theme: THE VOICE OF CONSCIENCE
Text: “And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.” – Genesis 42:21.
Comment: It could be recalled that many years after the sons of Jacob had, out of envy, sold their younger brother, Joseph, into slavery, they were driven by famine to go to Egypt for food. Joseph had by then risen to a position of pre-eminence in the Egyptian kingdom. When his brothers appeared before him for help he recognised them but they no longer knew him.
When he put them to the test and made them experience some difficulties in getting the help they wanted, their conscience judged them and they were compelled to confess that it was their sin against their bother that was making them suffer. (Genesis 42: 22) It would be recalled that while Reuben, who opposed the sale, was away, his brothers saw Midianite merchant men passing by and Judah suggested that they should rather sell Joseph to them than kill him. (Genesis 37:25-28) Here again we see that majority is not always right in the way of God.
Again, when our conscience corrects us, we should swallow our pride and amend our ways immediately, even if we feel we may lose some immediate benefit for so doing. Wrong actions will definitely produce negative consequences by and by. St. Paul stated, “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.” – 1 Corinthians 11:31, 32.