Theodore Parker was one of the greatest preachers America ever had, and
this story is told of him as a boy. One day, as he was going across the
fields, he came to a pond where he saw a small turtle sunning itself
upon a stone which rose out of the water. The boy picked up a stick, and
was about to strike the turtle, when a voice within him said, "Stop!"
His arm paused in midair and, startled, he ran home to ask his mother
what the voice meant. Tears came into his mother's eyes as she took the
boy in her arms and told him that it was his conscience which had cried
"Stop!" Then she told him that his conscience was the voice of God, and
that his moral safety depended upon his heeding that inner voice.
The same thing is true of all boys and girls. If you obey that inner
voice in questions of right and wrong, it will speak to you clearly.
But if you neglect it, it will grow silent, and you will be left in
darkness and in doubt as to what is right and wrong.
Some people call this voice the "inner light," and that is a very good
name for it. Every time you walk by the light you put fresh oil in the
lamp, and the light grows stronger and the way clearer.
Whenever that inner voice speaks to you and tells you that a thing is
wrong, don't argue with the voice and give reasons for doing the thing
that is wrong. Obey the voice at once, as Parker did, and it will save
you endless trouble.