A Clear Conscience

Every year, countless American schoolchildren memorize the Gettysburg Address. It’s a simple history lesson, an opportunity to learn about the Civil War, a turning point in American history. Yet it’s also much more. Memorizing that short two-minute speech is also an act of identity formation. It is a chance for students to connect to the ideals and aspirations of the people who founded this country. This is how Lincoln begins his speech:

“Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”

The Gettysburg Address provides an opportunity for every American child who remembers its words to internalize the values and aspirations of their country. As they recite the address, it becomes a part of them. 

  The Bible provides several similar points of reference, commands that seem insignificant until we consider their larger implications. This morning, we will consider one of these in the closing verses of I Peter 3, the method by which we pledge a clear conscience to God.