"David was conscience-stricken after he had counted the fighting men..." (2
Samuel 24:10a,NIV)
"They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their
conscience also beating witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and
at other times even defending them." (Rom 2:15, NIV)
One year, one of my colleagues was appalled to receive a Christmas card from a
Christian parent. "Who does she thinks she is? Does she think she is better than
the rest of us?"
Strangely enough, that same teacher had received many other Christmas cards, and
the messages in those cards were quite similar to the one she was so opposed to.
The problem was not that she received a Christmas card. The problem was Jesus.
Why should this be? Why would she be offended by what that mother believed?
There are many people, after all, who believe in different things. Some believe
in UFOs. Others are adamant that Elvis Presley is alive...No one objects to
their beliefs; but for whatever reason, it is popular to object to the beliefs
of Christianity. Why is this so?
If Christianity were a religion of pure hatred, I would concur that people
should object. Most Christians, however, live a life of love, helping the needy
wherever they are. Have we become so opposed to love?
The problem is that something pricks the conscience when faced with true
Christianity, and as their consciences begin to blame them, people become very
angry.
If there were no God, everything would be permissible. There would be nothing to
tell us the difference between right and wrong. No one can be condemned when
everything is permissible. How can we explain our consciences in a world where
there should be no right or wrong? When we feel guilt, where does this feeling
come from? If we truly believe there is no right or wrong, why are we so
concerned about genocide and other atrocities? Why do our consciences concern us
at all about anything? Why should we care? The conscious obviously does not
generate from us. We have to wonder where it comes from.
There is only one possibility: There's a God who cares for us, who warns us all,
even those who don't believe there is right and wrong.
During World War II, Abdol Hossein Sardari, an Iranian diplomat stationed in
Paris, had but one goal in mind: To save as many Iranian Jews as possible.
He used the Germans' own logic against them. After all, at the beginning of the
war, Germans considered Iranians to be of the Aryan race. Abdol absolutely
insisted that the Iranian Jews were not genetically connected to the European
Jewish ancestry. All the Jews of central Asia were Aryan, not Semitic. They were
Aryan, just like the Germans.
At one time, Adolf Eichmann blew up against Abdul. Abdul's arguments were so
convincing that the Racial Policy Department in Berlin asked the opinion of the
Research Institute for the History of the New Germany in Berlin, as well as the
Institute for Research of the Jewish Question in Frankfurt their opinion on the
question.
In the meantime, Abdol began giving out Iranian passports to Jews. Thanks to his
efforts, more than 3000 Jews were saved. These passports were also given to
non-Iranian Jews, as long as they were recommended by Jewish Iranians.
In 1941, when Russia and Great Britain invaded Iran, the new Iranian government
declared war on Germany. Iran ordered Abdol to leave France immediately. He
refused. His duty was to save Iranians as well as Jewish Iranians.
As a result, Iran suspended his salary, and with hardly any heat, no money, and
often going without food, Abdol continued his work of saving Jews. He never took
credit for this, for his conscience was guiding him in everything.
A conscience can be quite powerful!
Rob Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
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