Is is the sin in someone's life? Is it selfishness, pride, or just general apathy in life?
I did a Google search and stumbled on this blog which listed several biblical reasons for a hardened heart.
Here is the bulk of what that blog says:
- Lack of cultivation. James 1:22 Cultivation is applying the truths of God's Word. Truth without application hardens the heart (knowledge puffs up)
- Resistance to Truth. Jeremiah 5:3 Refusing to receive correction. Two choices - to obey or to refuse. Godly sorrow brings repentance (II Corinthians 7:10)!
- Self-righteousness. Romans 12:3 Our only value is through Christ. Any other thought makes the heart hard.
- Pharisaical pride. Mark 3:5 "Holier-than-thou" attitude. Jesus was grieved for the Pharisees' hardness of heart. They were known for thinking of themselves as special to God because of their obedience to the Law and tradition.
- Material affections. Lose your focus on God and others.
- Sin. Hebrews 3:12,13 The heart is hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. The conscience is often seared (I Timothy 4:1-2)
- Hurts to the heart. Proverbs 18:8 Usually, hurts will turn a person either to God or away from God.
- Disappointment. Keep your eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2)
- Lack of variety in the Christian life. Psalm 51:12 Sometimes our spiritual life gets stale, and we must ask the Lord to restore our joy.
- Our personal inhibitions. II Timothy 1:7 We worry about what others think, but God has not given us the spirit of fear.
This morning I am thinking about the condition of my own heart, and frankly I'm not really happy about it. I find myself apathetic about the well being of others. I hear about really great causes, other human beings in dire circumstances and they're as important to me as the next tab on my web browser.
Real human lives, real Christian persecution, life and death, and I sit here blogging and sipping my Grande non-fat (with whip) white mocha and non-nonchalantly browse between blasphemy trials of Christians in Muslim nations and people complaining about cold weather. What makes me sad is that I feel the same about both posts.
So Let's Do Some Semi-Public Self Reflection
Let's look at the causes of my current state of hardness.
Lack of Cultivation. This verse talks about hearing the word but not doing it. Granted, we all sin... but I hope this is something that doesn't describe me. I take God's word seriously. I think it is truth, and I try to abide to a standard of living which is without question Godly.
Resistance to Truth. Here is addressed a refusal to receive Godly correction. I think my entire life is a lesson in patience, and while I do admit a problem with earthly authority I don't think I refuse correction. Like many males, it sometimes sinks in slowly but I readily admit when I recognize I am wrong and try to make corrections when necessary.
These both can be described as a "holier than thou" mentality. I hate to admit it, but there's one that is on target. I jokingly pointed this out to Jenny (my wife) the other day. I find reasons when I drive to mentally believe I'm better than other drivers. "That guy is going too fast.", "That guy drives too slow.", "That bent fender means she can't drive." Give me 10 seconds, I'll find a way to pass judgement on the road. Can I honestly say that this sort of thinking doesn't find it's way into my subconscious about other matters as well? Perhaps I need to consciously work on this one.
Material Affections. I love tech toys and gadgets. I can't afford the ones I'd like, money is really tight now that we pay for health insurance. Yet, I am really spoiled. I have nice things, regardless of a few lucky breaks in acquiring them. I'm spoiled. Shoot, poor in America is still rich globally. While I'd love to believe that my love for God and others surpasses my love for myself... I realize I am spoiled, selfish and materialistic. Has that made my heart hard towards other people?
Sin. Funny thing about sin. Everyone else has it, but we don't readily admit to it ourselves. The fact of the matter is, we are all sinners. Christ died for all of us. Do we actively choose sin over God? Do we choose our selves over our Creator's design for our lives? There was a time when I lived in sin, reveled in it, didn't want to deal with it. Now I'm a recovering sinaholic. My sinful flesh nature manifests itself in new creative ways (you'd be surprised how many ways Satan can cause you not to operate and see the world as God designed it to be.) but I'd like to think that my life now is nothing like it used to be.
I pray the Holy Spirit can transform me and the fruit of that Spirit may be evident in my life. Yet as I read the fruit, I don't have an abundance yet. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. If I only have some of this fruit, I am missing out on a great harvest. Perhaps this is the struggle we must face for our entire lifetime. There are scriptures about finishing strong. The apostle Paul talks about sin and how he does not do what he wants and does what he doesn't want to do. Only Christ has truly conquered sin, but dangit if I'm not going to try to be more like Him every day, even if I fail.
Hurts to the Heart. Ouch, yes. To some degree we are all broken. Author John Eldridge describes this as "the wound". We all have Mommy and Daddy issues. The question is, can we ever overcome them? Scripture is about redemption, transformation, and maturation. God allows us to overcome, through HIS power and not our own. But I still carry painful scars of self-image/self-esteem issues from childhood. I still carry the burden of guilt. I still carry the fear of making the same mistakes as my father, or different mistakes to put my family in the same circumstances I grew up in.
It's pretty easy for someone who had a good childhood and a secure home life to "let go and let God" but I grew up so poor that I watched my Mom cry as she sat on the floor and rolled penny's into little paper tubes, $0.50 at a time trying to scrounge up enough money to send us to church camp. That leaves a deep impression on an impressionable young man. Now my responsibility is to my wife, and if we have children (God willing) to them as well. There's no room for selfishness in manhood, you have to put childish ways aside. Does this contribute to a hardened heart? Probably so.
Disappointment. Am I sometimes disappointed? Sure. Everyone is. Do I blame God? Not always. Not even most of the time. I think heaven will be a great equalizer, so in my own self evaluation, I feel good here.
Lack of Variety in Christian Life. How about too much variety? When you work at a church, it's part of your job to attend every meeting, event, function and social gathering... even if you just feel like a quiet evening at home. Its a dangerous thing when your faith becomes your job because resentment can build if you let it. Personal times of study and reflection can be cast aside because, "Hey, I do that at work, now is my time." Danger Will Robinson! What time doesn't belong to God?
Compartmentalization is a terrible way to live, but perhaps my apathy and hardheartedness stems from a feeling that "I already do enough." That's how I sort my mail... I already tithe and give to lots of good causes, so I throw new requests for time or resources away.
Our Personal Inhibitions. Nope, I don't have those. It's weird how I can be so self-conscious and have low self-esteem and be such an affirmation seeker yet not really care what people think when I say or do stuff. I think that's a control issue. If I am goofy, stupid or weird on my terms, I own it.
Now the fun part... reflection is over, time for application.
