The Light of Christ, Choose It and Share It!

Living in harmony with our conscience or being able to sleep at night are some of the many ways that people often explain or address the subject of that inner balance in life, essential to keeping stress and anxiety at a minimum. 

To be in harmony with our conscience we acknowledge the good in our conscience and choose the right, although the right is not always an easy choice. But, how we end up feeling has a lot to do with the choices that came before. An old tale of two wolves adds a little thought to the subject: 

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said: "My son, the battle is between two "Wolves" inside us all: 

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego. 

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith." 

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?" 

The old Cherokee simply replied: "The one you feed." 

Following our conscience brings inner peace and balance, while going against our conscience brings confusion, unrest, anxiety and stress. Some might also know our conscience by terms such the Light of Christ, Spirit of God, Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of Christ or the Light of Life. These are all references to a force of light or good, and like our conscience compels us to do good or to do the right thing. Following our conscience or the Light of Christ will lead to repentance, redemption, inner peace, optimism and hope. 

Why would conscience and the Light of Christ be the same thing? I could ask it in different way: What good is a conscience that does not compel you to do the right thing, take the "High Road" or keep you from sinking to someone's level that perhaps has chosen a more selfish, deceptive or less ethical path? 

Without a Light of Christ, God would not be God, and there would be no difference between good and evil, because there would be no God and without God there would be no reason to be good. All reasons to do good has to rest in deity or it would just be a matter of what everybody can get away with, without getting caught! Yet, the strange fact remains that most people, even self-proclaimed atheists usually believe in doing good and dealing fairly with other people. Continuing a differentiation between good and bad, right and wrong should be redundant to the atheist, yet they usually have a conscience compelling them to do good? How can that be, if they seriously deny God's existence? 

We have a dog in our family. It's a BIG dog and it's also a good dog but our dog has selective hearing, just like some teenagers do. Our dog sometimes conveniently makes a choice when to hear us and when to hear absolutely nothing. Atheism with a set of ethics is like having a selective deity, saying I'll choose the things that are good, for myself, for me and my best interest. However, when you are the the one that sets the standard for what is right, what is wrong, what is good and what is bad, you choose to recognise the existence good and bad (sometimes known as truth) but choose to adapt and bend it for your own selfish purposes. You can't bend truth or good and bad, and when you do, you conveniently place yourself above God in the chain of command, essentially making yourself the object of your worship. 

Without good and bad, or God and devil, there would no foundation for just laws. There would be no good or bad choices, no right or wrong but only choices that suit the individual best without any consideration of who else might get hurt. 

Although not the same as the Holy Spirit, the Light of Christ may help us make good choices or judge right from wrong. "... the Spirit of Christ is given unto every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade  to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is from God." (Moroni 7:16) 

Given a way to judge, comes an accountability for how we judge. A responsibility for our decisions: "... seeing that ye know the light by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully; for with that same judgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged." (Moroni 7:18) 

When absorbing light, some light will always reflect and when light is absorbed, light will show and add light to the surroundings. Those who pursue the energy, power and influence found in the Light of Christ will in some way share in it themselves, and in some indescribable way radiate that same light to those around them, and therein lies a further responsibility that others may share in that same light. "Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house." (Matthew 5:15) 

We all depend on light, it's what life is made of. Enjoy the light, pass it on and share it without any expectations, limitations, obligations or conditions. Choose the light and share it!