The Invisible Fence
Story★★★★We have an invisible fence around our yard to keep our Great Dane from running into the road. An invisible fence is a wire buried just under the ground around the parameter of the yard, and it emits a mild signal. The dog wears a special collar containing a beeper and two little prods. When he approaches the wire, the collar begins beeping, warning him he is near a forbidden boundary.
If he keeps going, he’ll get an unpleasant little electrical jolt. A person’s conscience is like the beeping sound of that collar. It is an inner voice that warns us that we’re nearing a forbidden boundary. If we keep on going, we’ll soon be at great risk on the broad highway.
If we ignore the beeping, we may soon effectively tune it out. We may even get to the point where we no longer feel the little jolts of warning, having become seared, calloused, and desensitized.
The point
An invisible dog fence with beeping collar compared to conscience: inner warning before crossing boundaries; ignoring warnings can sear and desensitize conscience.