The account of the collision over San Diego, where 144 died, read as follows:

San Diego, September 25

Bodies and flaming debris rained on to houses three miles from San Diego's Lindberg Airport today following the mid-air collision of a Pacific Southwest Boeing 727 and a two-seat Cessna light aircraft. . . . Both pilots had acknowledged a warning from air traffic controllers that they were on a collision course; but the Cessna took no action to avoid the 727."

This true life account illustrates the way people today treat the warning messages of his or her conscience. God has also created us with what we call the conscience, a human warning system about a coming collision between what we are doing and what we know is right. The conscience is the human warning system that tells us whether something is right or wrong. In fact, everyone has this built in warning system. Even those who are guilty of blatant and repeated wrong-doing, have a conscience.

The conscience has been characterized as one of two angels sitting on our "right" shoulder. However, our conscience is not something that is external to ourselves, but is our human value system that judges our actions and thoughts. Our actions and thoughts are judged by our personal standard of rightness. This standard may be very high or very modest. When we violate this standard we generally feel such emotions as shame and/or fear.

Our minds will search endlessly to find right reasons for doing what our conscience continues to restrain us from doing. We may well attempt to justify ourselves by pointing to the actions of others and such actions as being committed first. We may point to events in our childhood, social pressure, parental upbringing, or the existence of limited solutions to a problem as reasons to violate our conscience.

However, no matter how much we try to rationalize or justify our actions or thoughts, our conscience will continue to reassert its evaluation and contend for restraint or allowance. We will find it very difficult, if not nearly impossible, to suppress our conscience. It is only when we finally fall in line with what our conscience is saying that we experience dignity and satisfaction.

Our conscience is also the most factual, flawless, and overwhelming witness against us. While others may not accuse us of wrong-doing because they lack all the facts, the conscience has all the particulars and will condemn us when others will not. While others mistakenly judge us wrong or believe us right based on their values, the conscience is flawless in making calls based on our own value system which we have agreed to accept. While others may give up speaking to us about wrong, the conscience will not stop speaking unless we kill it. Yes, it is also possible for us to kill our conscience!

If we engage in wrong in spite of what our conscience keep saying, if we continually "run over" our conscience, if we abuse our conscience, over time it will ultimately lie silent on the road of life. It will sooner or later stop shouting out warning signals. Our conscience will become like calloused areas of our body that are no longer sensitive because the nerve endings are covered with hardened or damaged skin that is no longer receptive. However, when the conscience has been silenced we are then in even greater jeopardy for the existence of dangers that comes by wrong-doing will not have gone away, only the warnings about the existence of such dangers will be quieted.

The conscience is part of the human soul created by God. Even if it is silenced, it continues to store up all violations and has the potential of causing all kinds of mental and emotional disorders and sickness. Even if it is silenced, it continues to store up all violations and one day when we stand before God, it will be used as a affidavit against us. Don't be like the pilot who had acknowledged a warning from air traffic controllers that he was on a collision course; but took no action to avoid the terrible disaster. Don't suppress, don't silence your "air traffic controller." Listen to it!