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There is such a thing as having a balanced life before God and before man. Another phrase you can use for a balanced life is having the right conscience or standing before God and man. Many people hold this belief that once they can continually and consistently please God, they would be fine. This is true, but it is not totally the truth. As much as you are aware that pleasing God is a great idea, there is also the place of maintaining the right standing before every fellow man. A total man is that man who is at peace with God and at peace with man. Let us examine the writings of Luke in the books of Act 24:16 to buttress this point.
“……………I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.”
In this particular part of the scripture, Luke documented the defense of the Apostle Paul before the Roman Governor Felix about the accusations being brought against him by the Jews. Paul had been wrongly accused by the Jews and brought before a Roman court to be heard. One of Paul’s lines of defense is that he believes most assuredly that he has not done anything wrong, and that his conscience is pure before God and men. A conscience without offense is a guiltless conscience. To be guiltless means that all wrong doings which were condemned by the conscience have been dealt with before God and have been forgiven by Him.
No wonder Jesus said that when you come to offer your gift before God, and you remember that your brother has an unresolved matter against you, Jesus admonished that you first of all drop your gift at the altar, then go make peace with that your brother, then afterwards come back and offer your gift to God (Matthew 5:23-24). There is no way you can effectively please God when your brother has something against you. I mean, this is a biblical principle and not my own personal theory. God takes how you relate with your fellow man seriously as much as He takes your relationship with Him seriously.
Come to think of it: is it just a mere coincidence when the scriptures says in Hebrews 12:14 to follow peace with all men? “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” If this scripture is true, why then do we assume that being at peace with man can be excluded, as long as we are alright with God? One of the cardinal scriptures that guides my relationship with everyone I come across with is that Hebrews 12:14. It says one of the prerequisite for seeing the Lord is to be at peace with all men.
That neighbour that you constantly have issues with, that colleague at work you think you cannot get along with, it is time to get along well with them; not for their sake, but for your own sake. Heaven is real, so do not allow men to hinder you from getting there. Examine your relationship life for a moment. How many people are you at peace with, or is at peace with you. There is a need for you to do an audit of your relationship – who have you wronged that has not forgiven you? Who is it that have wronged you as well that you have vowed not to forgive?
Think about this for a moment!