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Becoming
Desensitized
To Sin
By Glen Young

A Native American explanation for a seared conscience goes like this. The conscience is a three cornered wheel inside the breast. When a person does something bad, it rotates and the sharp points cause pain. If a person continues to do those things, which cause the wheel to rotate, it will eventually round off the sharp points. When this happens, doing something bad that causes the wheel to rotate will no longer cause pain.

However we explain it, one thing is certain, a seared conscience is symptomatic of those who have departed the faith (1 Timothy 4:1-3; Jude 3). At this juncture, the seared conscience cannot be pricked by the unrighteous acts of the person wherein it resides. Hence, all manner of wickedness is committed without remorse.

How does a person get to the stage, which psychologists call anti-social behavior? How is it that those who were once faithful Christians degrade into those who participate in all manner of false doctrines and overt sins? Does it happen all at once?

It happens through a gradual process of desensitization. When I was growing up in North Alabama, we worked hard in our gardens and cotton fields. Much of this work was done with a hoe. I remember that in the spring my hands would become blistered and sore from the friction of the hoe handle. This would continue until they developed calluses. When my hands grew accustomed to the abrasive hoe handle, they no longer blistered or became sore.

Desensitization can and does happen in the spiritual realm. This spiritual callousness is in response to the wicked world in which we live. Through television, radio and other media, we are constantly bombarded by evil of every kind. Our neighbors are involved in it. Officials in high office are engaged in it. In the words of an old Sonny & Cher song, "and the beat goes on!"

The problem Christians face is one of remaining righteously indignant toward evil. Peter described Lot as one who was, "... sore distressed by the lascivious life of the wicked (for that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed (his) righteous soul from day to day with (their) lawless deeds):" 2 Peter 2:7-8. Initially, the evil of wicked men distresses us, vexes our righteous souls. Prolonged exposure to the lascivious life of the wicked causes our consciences to become callused.

Over time, we grow accustomed to the evil around us. We 'adjust' and there is no more adverse reaction. We can invite adultery, fornication, nakedness, cursing and blasphemy of God into our homes and are not shocked by it. We call it entertainment. We hear of a public official violating the public trust by overtly sinning and say, "Everybody is doing it." We allow the homosexual life style to go unchallenged and say, "If they want to live that way, it's no skin off my teeth." We have become 'street-wise' and speak of illicit sex, drug abuse and every sort of wickedness with ease. It is evident that Christians have become desensitized to sin.

The danger is in our inability to differentiate between good and evil. Christians are to grow and mature having their senses exercised to know good from evil (2 Peter 3:18; Hebrews 5:12-14). Paul emphasizes this by writing, "... I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple unto that which is evil." (Romans 16:19) When Paul here speaks of being simple unto that which is evil, he is speaking of an innocence or naive ness toward evil. Children are subjected to sex education at ever-younger ages. The average first grader can tell you more about sex than you ever wanted to know. And that is just the Christian's child. The children of worldly parents can tell you things you don't even want to know.

Once in a conversation I was having over the need to be faithful in attendance, the individual with whom I was speaking introduced another preacher into the discussion by referring to his having committed adultery. He did it to chastise me for being so hard on his lack of attendance. The reason I know this is because of what he said. He said that the aforementioned preacher had become more compassionate toward others after his lapse into sin. He was more understanding of those who sin. Could it have been, and I believe it was, that his conscience had become desensitized to sin?

Sin is a horrible thing. It separates man from God (Isaiah 59:1-2). It robs man of the opportunity to be with the Lord Jesus Christ (John 8:21). It will cause the eternal soul of man to be cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death (Revelation 20:14-15; 21:8).

Christians have no choice but to live in this evil world. We do have a choice of whether or not we will let the evil affect us. If we aren't vexed in our soul daily by what we observe, then we are doomed!