Normal people blush, but the Scriptures charge that the people of God in the days of Jeremiah somehow forgot how to blush. They were so perverted in their thinking that things did not seem right or wrong to them. They called evil good, and good evil. They exchanged darkness for light and light for darkness. They exchanged bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter (Isaiah 5:20). Jeremiah asked this piercing question: “Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush.” ( Jeremiah 6:15).
Charles Darwin was fascinated by blushing. An article on the internet notes: “Blushing is a reddening of the skin of the face caused by dilation of the facial blood vessels which become engorged with blood, usually due to embarrassment or shame.' The origin of blushing has long been an ‘evolutionary enigma.' It bothered Darwin for most of his working life because this trait was yet another factor that differentiated humans from our apparent closest relatives, the apes. And it is yet another trait that is unique to humans—no evidence exists that any animal blushes. In Darwin’s words, “Blushing is the most peculiar and the most human of all expressions.” He also concluded that some animals may appear to blush, but their reaction is very different from blushing.
The article continues: “Darwin devoted an entire chapter to blushing in his book, The Expression of the Emotions in ManandAnimals.' Heconclude: Blushing is a uniquely human characteristic that appears to defy evolution for several reasons. One of these reasons is that no one has been able to explain why something like blushing, which most often does not help—and may even hurt—the blusher, would evolve. In contrast to most emotional responses, blushing is not a conscious behavior. As Darwin acknowledged, we cannot cause a blush. Rather, it is produced by the autonomic nervous system, “which is completely beyond our control.”
Blushing apparently involves our “conscience.” Conscience is also a uniquely human characteristic and is mentioned twenty-nine times in the New Testament Scriptures. Infants do not have a conscience and consequently they do not blush. At some point in time, however, the infant will mature to the point that they intuitively know right from wrong. At this point, when they do something wrong, their conscience will cause them to blush. As Darwin observed, this is beyond their control. Paul makes reference to this by explaining that the Gentiles who do not have the law, do have a conscience ... [Which] show the work of the law written in their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing or at other times even defending them' (Romans 2: 15). Yet, even though we have a conscience, we can destroy our conscience to the point that we no longer blush!
This is what happened to Israel. “No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush.” Obviously something damaged or destroyed their conscience. Paul warned of a conscience that is weak and defiled (1 Corinthians 9: 7). He also warned that our minds and our consciences can also be corrupted (Titus 1:15). He warned Timothy that “The Spirit clearly says that in later times, some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” (1 Timothy 4: 1-2) Those who have their conscience “seared with a hot iron” lose the ability to blush! As Isaiah observed, they “call evil good and good evil.”
We are creatures of habit! There was a time when we could not walk: now we can walk in our sleep. There was a time when we could not talk; now we can talk in our sleep. We can also do wrong so often that it, too, becomes a habit. When Nero became the emperor of Rome, he had a tender conscience. Under the guidance of philosophers like Seneca and Burrhus, advisors to the Emperor Nero, the future seemed bright for the Empire. Seneca thought Nero “incapable of learning cruelty.” Something, however, happened to Nero! Apparently he started doing little things that he knew were wrong but did them anyway. He kept violating his conscience until it became so calloused and hard that evil became a habit. Nero is now remembered as one of the most degraded monsters who ever lived. He ordered the murder of his brother, his mother, and his first wife. His second wife died from his abuse. He put to death multiplied thousands without blushing. Nobody was safe from his madness. Suetonius, first-century Roman historian, wrote that Nero set Rome on fire to clear the site for his planned palatial Golden House, which included lush artificial landscapes and a 30meter-tall statue of himself. Then to escape the guilt of his own crime, he blamed the fire on Christians and put thousands of them to death. Nero also has the dubious distinction of executing both the Apostle Peter and the Apostle Paul. Obviously, he had forgotten how to blush!
If your conscience tells you something is wrong, please don’t violate your conscience! A person without a conscience is like a ship that has no rudder by which to steer. Violating your conscience is a dangerous habit that can have eternal consequences.