The Death of Conscience: Why Nothing Shocks Us Anymore

Desensitization is the devil’s anesthetic. By the time you feel nothing, the cancer is already terminal. By Virgil Walker | Sola Veritas

We Forgot How to Blush

It happened gradually.

One headline at a time. One compromise at a time. One drag queen story hour at a time.

Now we scroll past stories that would've made us tremble a generation ago: child drag shows, gender surgeries on minors, teachers grooming students, pornography in school libraries.

Our grandparents would've wept. We just keep scrolling.

A few weeks ago, I was sitting in a coffee shop near my home. A group of high school students—maybe 16 or 17—were laughing, huddled around a phone. Curious, I leaned slightly to glimpse the screen. What I saw made my stomach turn: a video clip of a so-called "family-friendly" drag show. Gyrating. Glitter. Grown men dressed as caricatures of women, performing for children. And no one blinked.

The barista smiled and handed over my coffee like nothing had happened. I sat down, stunned—not just by what I saw, but by how normal it had become.

This is no accident. It’s judgment.

“Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush.” (Jeremiah 6:15)

We've reached the point Jeremiah warned about: the death of shame. The loss of conscience. A society with no moral reflex left.

When You Feel Nothing, That’s the Real Crisis

Romans 1 doesn’t describe a people sliding toward sin. It describes a people being handed over to it.

“Therefore God gave them up...” (Romans 1:24)

The phrase appears three times:

God gave them up (Romans 1:24).

God gave them up (Romans 1:26).

God gave them up (Romans 1:28).

This isn’t passive. It’s divine abandonment.

When a culture suppresses truth long enough, God doesn't just send warnings—He withdraws restraint. And what fills the vacuum is terrifying:

Lust presented as love

Pride paraded as courage

Confusion elevated as identity

I remember talking with an older pastor years ago. He told me, "When God judges a nation, it's not just what He does. It's what He no longer does. He stops holding back the madness." That sentence echoes in my mind every time I see another story about children being encouraged to change their gender or schools allowing boys in girls' locker rooms.

We used to mourn. Now we celebrate. And that shift—from sorrow to celebration—is a symptom of judgment, not progress.

The Conscience Isn’t Gone—It’s Calloused

The human conscience is like a nerve. When it’s healthy, it stings when touched by sin. But when seared or overexposed, it becomes numb.

“They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.” (Ephesians 4:19)

This is the death of conscience: not that it disappears, but that it stops working.

It’s why we’re not shocked anymore.

It’s why nothing feels extreme.

It’s why people watch horror without horror.

And Satan loves it. Desensitization is one of his most effective tools. It doesn’t require you to rebel. It just needs you to get used to the rebellion.

A friend recently confessed to me that he no longer flinches at scenes in TV shows that once would have made him turn it off. "It just feels like everything's saturated in filth now," he said. "And I've gotten used to it."

That’s the danger—not just exposure to evil, but acceptance of it.

What Got Us Here

Soft Preaching – Too many pulpits traded fire for fluff. Truth was sidelined for ten tips on self-care.

Screen Addiction – A generation raised on violence, lust, and mockery has no reference point for holiness.

Normalization Campaigns – Hollywood has spent decades making sin look fun, brave, and beautiful.

Moral Cowardice – Christians kept quiet for the sake of being liked. Now the culture doesn’t know what we believe.

A friend once told me about a Sunday service he attended where the pastor preached a 35-minute message on "loving yourself well" without ever opening the Bible. That church now hosts pride events.

The Remedy Is Revival, Not Rebranding

We won’t feel again until we repent. And repentance won’t come through branding consultants or PR campaigns.

It will come when the Word of God pierces hearts again.

When pastors preach hell and mean it.

When fathers weep over sin in their homes.

When Christians fast and pray for mercy.

There’s no shortcut to a softened conscience. It must be broken by the weight of truth.

What Christians Must Do Now

Reignite Your Conscience – Saturate your soul in Scripture. Pray for soft eyes and a tender heart.

Refuse to Numb Out – Limit what you consume. Turn off the filth. Don’t laugh at what grieves God.

Speak Without Fear – The truth may sting, but it can still awaken the sleeping.

Prepare for Pushback – A tender conscience will be mocked in a numb world. Be ready.

Conclusion: Wake Up While There’s Time

The worst judgment isn’t fire from heaven.

It’s when God lets you go.

America has been handed over. The numbness we feel isn’t safety—it’s a symptom. And unless there is repentance, it ends in ruin.

But the Gospel still saves.

The Word still convicts.

And the Spirit still awakens.

So cry out. Confess. Preach. And feel again.

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." (Matthew 5:4)

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