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Apples of Gold
Radio Script for July 30, 2009
“Calibrate Your Conscience”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
The other day I pulled up behind a sleek sports car at a stoplight.
A heavily tinted driver’s window rolled down, and out came a pretty little feminine arm with a bright pink bracelet, and matching bright pink fingernails.
And then came the finishing touch.
She was holding a cigarette.
I know, I know. Smoking these days is not a sign of intelligence.
But it is a sign of wealth.
I saw a blurb in the Bradenton Herald that said in Florida the average cost of a pack of cigarettes is now over $5.00.
Over 20% of that is state taxes, which has sent some Floridians over the state line to buy their smokes.
A local TV station did a report on it, and they also said that more people were buying their cigarettes on the internet.
But here’s the thing. If you live in Florida, and you buy cheaper cigarettes online, you are still liable for the state cigarette tax.
That’s what the reporter said, and then he wrapped up his story with something that made me laugh.
He said, “If you feel guilty about not paying the state for cigarettes bought over the internet, you can download a form from the Florida Department of Business…”
I laughed out loud! I’ll bet this is not one of those times when a website suddenly crashed from too many hits.
In fact, I bet that – out of the over 18 million people who live in Florida – not one single person has downloaded that form to pay their buck-thirty-four cigarette tax.
Can you see the pink bracelet girl sitting in Starbucks with a friend?
“I feel so guilty.”
“Why?”
“I’ve been buying cigarettes online and not paying the state tax.”
Now go back to what that newscaster said. He said, “If you feel guilty…”
If you think about it, that’s an odd thing to say about the law of the land.
I mean, shouldn’t he have said, “You must fill out this form and pay your taxes”?
But instead he said, “If you feel guilty…”
Now think about this. A bunch of people breaking the law, and probably no one feeling guilty about it.
What does it mean?
Well get this picture in your head. I work in radio and we have control boards with meters. The meters are supposed to tell you exactly what’s going on, but sometimes they get out of whack. The needles might be barely bouncing, but the sound is really loud.
What that means is that the meters need to be calibrated. So you send a test signal through the board, and you reset the meters. Only then will the meters give you accurate readings.
Our conscience is like that. It’s like a meter that measures guilt.
When our conscience is properly calibrated, we will feel guilty when we do wrong.
When our conscience is out of whack, we can do wrong and not feel guilty. Or we can feel guilty when we don’t do wrong. Either way it’s messed up.
First Timothy 4:2 talks about having a seared conscience. It loses its accuracy.
So we need to calibrate our conscience.
Now think of the Word of God as the test tone. Scripture tells us what’s right. It is the pure, unwavering tone that we can set our meters to.
So we go to the Word, and as we receive that pure tone, then the Holy Spirit goes to work inside of us.
John 16:8 indicates that the Holy Spirit’s expertise is the proper use of guilt.
Guilt is a good thing. It’s a meter that warns us when we do wrong. It’s like a red alert at a nuclear facility. It must be working properly to avoid a meltdown.
When we do wrong, our conscience should warn us so that we can repent, turn from it and turn back to the Lord.
But our conscience can be seared. It can give false readings.
That’s why we need to stay in the Word. It’s that pure test tone that the Holy Spirit uses to make our guilt readings accurate and useful.
So get in the Word. Be open to the Holy Spirit.
And if you ever find yourself doing wrong and not feeling guilty about it, then you know it’s time – time to calibrate your conscience.
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
© 2009 The Arrow’s Tip
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
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