How do we keep the conscience pure? The Holy Fathers say that we must guard the conscience in three ways: with respect to God, with respect to our neighbor and ourselves, and in relation to material things. Such divisions are relative and may serve a practical, pedagogical purpose–but ultimately, the guarding of the conscience will always be with respect to God. One great ascetic explains it in this way: if I remove myself from God, I am able to do this only because I am conscious of myself; even so, I do not cease to be His created being, a bearer of His image. Since God is the Creator of everyone and everything, in the end our conscience must answer to Him alone.
Abba Dorotheos writes: ''A person follows his conscience with respect to God when he is careful to keep His commandments even when nobody sees him and no one demands anything of him. This is done in secret. For example, his conscience speaks when he neglects prayer, or when he consents to a passionate thought within his heart instead of vigilantly chasing it away. He may notice his neighbor saying or doing something suspicious and blame him. In short, we should keep our conscience vigilant even in secret actions that no one but God witnesses. This is precisely what is meant by 'guarding our conscience before God.'''
It is written in Unseen Warfare: "Remain in the remembrance of God and walk in His presence; be conscious that you are carried and guarded by His power which leads you to fulfill the purpose for which He has called you into being; dedicate yourself and all that is yours to the service of God and His glory; live in Him and hope in Him, and dedicate your fate to Him – both temporal and eternal."
The Holy Fathers teach us to continually "walk before God," to always be conscious of His presence. It is not enough for us to know this abstractly; we must spend our entire life within this awareness. There is an Arabic saying: in the darkest night, on the blackest of marble, God not only sees the blackest ant, but even hears the trample of his feet. With what vivid imagery does this wise Arabic man describe the Omnipresent and All-knowing God! God sees all of His creation. Man must walk before God and remember every moment of his life that all must be done for God's glory.
For those of us who only momentarily perceive and are conscious of God, this sounds strange. Yet for those who do not simply chatter about religious issues but truly seek the path of salvation, the necessity to "walk before God" is obvious. The great ascetic Abba Anthony teaches us to always have God before our eyes, wherever we go.
Thus, the one who continually has remembrance of God is guarding his conscience with respect to God. The conscience of such a man is purified, for he has the fear of God. This fear of God shows him his sins, cleanses them and restrains such a man from sin. If this is the guarding of the conscience in relationship to God, let us see what the guarding of conscience is with respect to our neighbor.
Abba Dorotheos writes, "The guarding of the conscience with regard to one's neighbor is to do absolutely nothing that we know will upset or wound him, either by deed, word, a facial expression, or even with a glance. For even a facial expression or a glance can hurt him. Man sullies his conscience by deliberately doing those things that he knows will provoke his neighbor, something which is meant to harm or to embarrass him. When we do not allow ourselves to act in such a manner, we are keeping our conscience pure towards our neighbor." So, if with respect to God the foremost is awareness of His presence and fear of offending Him, then with respect to our neighbor, we must see the image of God in him, preclude undue rudeness and familiarity, and refrain from doing anything that may insult or tempt him.
The guarding of the conscience with respect to our neighbor has two meanings: the guarding of one's own conscience and that of another. Most often we half-heartedly concern ourselves with the former, and ignore the latter. We judge, degrade, and are rude to our neighbor; we love to instruct him, not with love but with imposition. We need to stop the transfer of our poisonous sinfulness to him. Yet we constantly do the opposite. Thus, for us it is especially important to learn what the Holy Fathers say regarding this.
The Holy Fathers express very profound ideas on this subject. At times their thoughts are so deep that they are hard for us to fathom. They can seem strange and even absurd to us. For example, St. Barsanuphius the Great once gave the following answer to a brother who asked to meet with him: "Tell the brother: 'forgive me for the Lord's sake; I would like to see you but I do not deem it possible while preserving my neighbor's conscience' (from temptation) ." Venerable Barsanuphius may have desired to see the brother but realized that this might tempt others, so he could not fulfill the request. This may seem over scrupulous to us, but the great elder remembered the words of the Savior, Who said: It is impossible but that offense will come; but woe unto him, through whom they come (Luke 17:1). For the saint it was just as necessary to guard another's conscience as well as his own.
We have completely lost the understanding of this two-fold meaning of the guarding of the conscience, but this was obvious to the Holy Fathers who walked this path not only in word but in deed. In describing the life of monks of a certain monastery, St. John Climacus wrote: "They were bonded to one another with an indissoluble bond of love; and what is more amazing is that, with such love, they were strangers to any familiarity or idle talk. They learned, in the first place, not to wound the conscience of a brother in any way."
