Have You Lost Your Sense of Conscience?

When we fall into sin, most of us feel disturbed at first. This inner discomfort isn’t just guilt—it’s a signal from our conscience, the voice of God written into our hearts. Sin is never natural to the human soul, because we are made in the image of God, who is love, truth, and goodness.

Take, for example, a young person experimenting with smoking or drinking. At first, they might do it in secret, aware that something about it isn’t right. They feel uneasy—perhaps even ashamed. But as time goes on, they may begin doing it openly, and when confronted, say, “There’s nothing wrong with this.” What once felt wrong slowly starts to feel normal.

This is the danger of sin: repeated behavior can dull our moral senses. Over time, we begin to justify what we once resisted. Our conscience, if ignored, can grow silent.

Scripture warns us of this moral blindness. Proverbs 30:20 says,

“This is the way of an adulteress: she eats, wipes her mouth, and says, ‘I have done no wrong.’”

Many of us can fall into this state—where we no longer recognize sin for what it is. Perhaps there was a time when viewing pornography, lying, or engaging in inappropriate relationships troubled us deeply. But now, after repeated sin, we may feel nothing at all. No remorse. No interior struggle. We carry on, unaware that we’ve drifted from God’s voice within.

This is not just about “feeling bad”—it’s about being attuned to the truth. If we ignore our conscience long enough, we risk becoming desensitized to sin, convincing ourselves that there’s nothing to repent of.

How Do We Respond?

The first step is to pause and examine our hearts.
Have I grown numb to sin? Have I stopped recognizing God’s law in my daily choices?

The Church gives us a great gift in the Examination of Conscience—a spiritual inventory to help us reflect honestly. With God’s grace, our dulled senses can be awakened. Our hardened hearts can be softened.

Don’t be discouraged if you’ve wandered far. Even now, the Holy Spirit is calling you back—not to shame you, but to heal and restore.
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

Let us not wait until our conscience goes silent. Let us return to the light while there is still time.