What is Hardheartedness?
I was sitting in a Church, listening to the pastor preach on Mark 3:1-6. My heart started flying around the words “hardheartedness” like a bee around a flower and my mind jostled from one verse to another extracting the nectar. The net result was a honey-comb of information which enlightened my eyes. The Holy Spirit whispered into my ears to study the subject and discover my rocky heart to under stand more about hard- heartedness. We will cut the honeycomb into seven slices and eat them one by one.
1. It is refusing to understand God’s dealing in our life.
The first striking incident in the Bible about hardness of heart is Pharaoh refusing to release the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. There are many passages which say, “God hardened the heart of Pharaoh” (Ex 4:21). But we should not fail to put together corresponding verses which are windows into the other rooms of Pharoah’s life. We read, “Pharaoh’s heart was hard- ened” (Ex 7:13,14), and “Pharaoh hard- ened his heart” (Ex 8:15). In other words, God never hardens a soft heart.
He only hardens hard hearts to show forth His glory. We can also say that Pharaoh’s heart was hard ened as the Lord predicted.
During every trial, Pharaoh was probably getting more and more convinced that Jehovah God was greater than all his Egyp- tian gods. May be he was “almost” con- vinced like Agrippa (Acts 26:28). But when the situation eased he hardened his heart once again (Ex 8:15,18,19). There were many opportunities given to him to repent but he was stubborn. The Bible says, “His heart was not moved” by the miracles (Ex 7:22).
God works in our lives in various ways. Unless we let our hearts be moved by God’s dealings, our heart will become stony. Even the smallest of miracles He does in our lives— an escape from a fatal accident, someone sending us what we were just longing for— must catch our eyes and tickle our tongues to praise Him. Similarly whenever
He chides, we must be quick to understand and repent.
If Pharaoh had let his heart be moved he could have saved his country, army, people, firstborn and his soul. If you think Pharaoh could not have let his heart be touched of God because God hardened it, I don’t think I will vote for your opinion.
Very many years later the Philistines captured the Ark of God from Israel and were smitten with piles and mice. Is this the hand of the God of Israelites ? Though they could have hardened their hears they decided to appease the great Jehovah God.
Their priests said, “Why then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their heart s ?” (1 Sam 6:6).
When God deals with us, we must think, understand and bow our heads before Him in ack nowledgment that leads to actions (Mk 6:52; 8:17).
2. It is a destructive attitude.
There were three gallant men in David’s army who were given to hot impulses. David says of them, “I am weak today, though anointed king ; and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too harsh for me” (2 Sam 3:39).
Zeruiah was not a man, but David’s sister and the mother of the aforesaid three, Abishai, Joab, and Asahel (1 Chron 2:16). More sensitive than the pupils of the eyes, they were full of themselves and slaves to their own urges. We read of three incidents which reveal their harshness in three ways.
a) Vengeance
Abner was captain of Saul’s army. When Asahel, the youngest of Zeruiah’s sons gave Abner a chase, Abner warned him to leave him alone. When the gazelle-footed Asahel would not be discouraged, Abner killed him in self-defence. The backlash reaction of Joab is sad. Instead of breaking the cycle of hatred and revenge, when opportunity pre- sented itself, Joab stabbed the defenseless Abner to quiet his own nerve and celebrated a lacklustre victory (2 Sam 3:20-27).
The tragedy struck a cord deep in David. He considered Abner a prince and a great man and walked the extra mile to get him for his kingdom (2 Sam 3:38,39). But the cut- throats murdered him in a personal vendetta. David was also a shrewd man but for the sake of the kingdom he kept his suspicion at bay and embraced people. We learn two things here. We have to forgive and main- tain personal relationships for the King- dom sake. Secondly, we should not lose people by over-suspicion without proof of their infidelity. Just because we hate some- body or we are suspicious of someone, the Kingdom of God cannot afford to lose people. We are still weak and we need people. Let us sacrifice personal interests for the Kingdom’s sake and be broadminded like David.
b) Insecure reactions
Absalom made Amasa as his captain when he took over David’s kingdom (2 Sam 17:25). When the coup failed and Absalom died, the people came back to the king. Think of Amasa’s face with rotten egg all over. But David promised to make him commander of his army in Joab’s place (2 Sam 19:12-14). How tactfully David got the people on his side. May be David decided to promote Joab and give his place to Amasa. He was true to his word (20:4). The stage was thus set for a clash.
Joab saw Amasa as a threat to his position and murdered him deceitfully (2 Sam 20:9,10).
How sad! What a contrast to David’s soft heart and the hard hearts of the sons of Zeruiah.
Promotion comes from the Lord. Our security is in our position in Christ. No one can take it away. We should never reach for success by trampling on people nor defend our position by slashing who- ever cuts our path. That’s
hardheartedness.
c) Intolerance
The hardheartedness of the sons of Zeruiah is seen in another scene. Shimei came curs- ing and throwing stones at the king in his exile. If David had not been there Shimei’s head would have rolled off his shoulders in no time as Abishai drew his sword out. But David, crestfallen, said, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah ? So let him curse, because the Lord has said to him ‘Curse David.’ Who then shall say, ‘Why have you done so ?” (2 Sam 16:8-12). Again what a contrast between the two!
When David again sat on the throne, Shimei apologised for his hasty act. Again Abishai sprang up and demanded his execution. For David the battle was far from over. He lamented, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? ” (2 Sam 19:20-22). Compare with the disciples desiring to bring down fire to consume a village.
Tolerance is a Christian virtue. Especially when you have the power to hurt someone and you hold it back, God honours it. No wonder David was a man after God’s tender heart. Let us not spring up to slander, harass and hurt people for what they do to us. Let us not take the sword in our hand.
Joab was given a chance to survive. But after the rollercoaster events, Solomon had him executed when he joined Adonijah to make him king. It was not a matter of vengeance but so that more harm will not come to the kingdom (1 Ki 2:5, 32-34).
Let the end of the sons of Zeruiah serve as a warning to soften our hard hearts. The three died without a change of heart without letting the hard brick wall around their angry hearts to crumble.
3. It is disobedience to God’s Word.
When we read or hear the Word of God we must make a willing effort to understand it. Only then it will take root, grow and give fruit. Our reading or hearing must be action-oriented. Jesus said in Matthew
13:20,21, “He who received the seed on stony places : this is he who hears the Word and immediately receives it with joy ; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. But when tribulation or persecution arises because of the Word, immediately he stumbles.”
Before rushing to judgement let’s under- stand that there is a whole beam in our own eye. Practising God’s Word is getting that beam out chip by chip, chip by chip. We have no excuse for our disobedience. We judge someone but we do the same.
Paul says, “In accordance with your hard- ness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judge- ment of God” (Rom 2:5). Beloved, it is time to turn your darling sin out of doors. “He who hardens his heart will fall into calamity” (Prov 28:14).
When we believe the effectiveness of the Word of God it becomes easy to practise.
God’s truths can come to us in many ways. We must discern and believe the truth without hardening our hearts. Rebellion against the revealed will of God is hard- heartedness (Ezek 3:7-9).
Zedekiah did not humble himself before Jeremiah, the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the Lord ... but stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the Lord God of Israel (2 Chr 36:12,13). The
resul t : His sons were killed before his eyes and his eyes put out so that his last sight and memory would be the slaughter of his children.
Obey God’s Word at all cost and you will never regret it.
4. It is being an uncooperative family member.
Talking about divorce Jesus said , “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives.” He then strongly condemned flippant divorce (Mk 10:5).
Husband-wife relationship is a very delicate one and must be handled as a flower. When hearts are hardened the relationship dies.
Refusing to wipe away the tears from the eyes of the wife and listening to her problems, not speaking kind and gentle words to her, not doing the duty of a husband are all hard- ness. Similarly the wife can be hardhearted by blatant disobedience, by not trying to understand her husband’s physical, spiritual, so cial, emotional and other needs, by nagging and even by threatening divorce.
When relationship problems arise, sit together, listen to one another and let the Holy Spirit soften you heart to change. Then your marriage will have more chances of working. The Pharisees wanted a loose, un- binding, easy marriage. That is not marital “bond.” Marriage is sticking together through good and bad. In this era of convoluted ideas, God is permitting many to divorce when they pray and pester Him, not because that’s His will for them, but because of their hardheartness, their unwillingness to forgive, to accept to change themselves a little to suit the other person’s temperament. Alienated spouses, listen to m e ! Love is not moon- light, mangoes and music. You must work hard at it. Everybody has got enough reasons to divorce. If you let God soften your heart, you can resuscitate your relationship and be reconciled (1 Cor 7:11). Then get your marriage back on track.
Parents can be hardhearted towards their children by their negligence. In Job 39:13- 18 we read about the hardhearted mother ostrich: “She leaves her eggs on the ground, and warms them in the dust; she forgets
that a foot may crush them, or a wild beast may break them. She treats her young harshly as though they were not hers. Her labour is in vain.”
Little children are like eggs. If proper care is not given, they get crushed. Over- strictness, not understanding them, humiliat- ing them, pushing them beyond their capacity, excessive and cruel punishments, not express- ing love and appreciation, not spending enough time with them, leaving them to fend for themselves or watch the T V for long hours, leaving them with untrustworthy people are all hardheartedness. Remember one thing— you can never hug your kids too much. Teach them the Bible and lay down a good founda- tion for their future. Children can also be hardhearted towards parents.
There is also a commandment to be kind- hearted to poor believers. “You shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother” (Dt 15:7). When you see a poor believer many questions will dart across your mind. How can I help him?
Will my family object ? How many can I help like this ? Am I spoiling him by helping ? Etc. Sort out the questions and help sensibly. It is not at all difficult to pick out the deserving. If not all, select one or two fami lies and help them out.
5. It is Pride.
“His heart is as hard as stone, even as hard as the lower millstone.... He is king over all the children of pride” (Job 41:24,34). This is about the leviathan which may be a whale or crocodile.
Can you appease a crocodile ? It’s very being is so hard you cannot get through to its heart. Any plea to it is hitting your head against a rock. If we are so proud and hard by nature we need to change. Much of our bad nature can be changed if we take it up as a challenge and work on ourselves. Some- where we have to stop and think and change. Biology is not destiny.
Don’t let pride harden your spirit (Dan 5:20). Take a major gulp of humility.
Jesus saw a man with a withered hand in the synagogue. The Pharisees watched so they could accuse Him if He healed the man on the Sabbath day. Their mind was so rigid about Sabbath, they decided never to change. Even if it meant delivering of a man from his long-term illness it was unacceptable to them. It was ego. The Bible says Jesus was angry and was grieved at the hardness of their heart. When Jesus healed the man they went out to destroy him (Mk 3:1-6). Yes, ego pushes us well below the civilised standards of behaviour.
Conquering pride is an uphill task. When the Holy Spirit gently blows on our hearts and whispers, “You can change yourself and accept the better way of life,” we must let our hearts be softened.
6. It is rejecting counsel.
“He who is often rebuked and hardens his neck will suddenly be destroyed and that without remedy” (Prov 29:1). Pharoah was destroyed suddenly and without remedy.
“They have refused to receive correction. They have made their faces harder than rock” (Jer 5:3).
We should not always expect God to speak to us from the skies. It can come in the most unexpected way. Listen to it and live. Why should you be suddenly destroyed ? David had Nathan and Gath as his counsel- lors. Who were Solomon’s counsellors? Who are your counsellors?
In essence, har dheartedness is the un- willingness to be pliable or make an effort to change.
7. Necessary hardheartedness
Having studied hardheartedness we should not become jelly fish. Even Jesus whipped.
A master gave one talent to one of his servants and went abroad. When he returned and claimed his due, the servant replied, “Lord, I knew you to be a hard man.” The master did not refute. He said , “You knew I was a hard man, wicked and lazy servant. Then why didn’t you work harder ?”
When it comes to getting things done, unless leaders are hard task masters much will not be accomplished. Tender masters tend to make their workers lazy. All leaves sanctioned, all excuses accepted, all failures winked at— there is no challenge for the workers. A hard master with sensitivity to the worker will not only get things done but steps up the quality and sharpens the skills of his workers. In the same way parents need to be wisely hard too for the good of their children. Sometimes wise harshness is necessary to keep the family going in God’s will (Gen 16: 6 ; 21:10-12).
To get to the bottom of the problem, may be all of us are hard in certain areas. If while reading this article the Lord has put His finger and pointed out where you are hard, take a giant step forward by con- fessing it as sin (Ex 9:34).
If we are stiffnecked like Zedekiah or the Israelites, calamity will surely be our lot (2 Chron 36:12,13; Heb 3:7,8). But let us long and work for a humble, tender heart like Josiah (2 Ki 22:19). Like a refreshing cool breeze in a hot summer day comes God’s assurance that there is no heart too hard for the Lord to break. Under the New
Covenant, He has promised to remove our stony heart ¨ Debo’s family in Raijolle village and Guru in Naretta village face persecution for their faith.
¨ The Lord protected our native missionaries Jhitku and Prabhudas from a cobra.
¨ 116 patients were treated in our clinic at Ramagiri in June.
RAJASTHAN
¨ Praise God for the receptivity in the village of Jalpali.
¨ Akhilesh and Usha are among the new con- tacts. Rajkumar, Gopichand and Srichand who are interested in the gospel are to be delivered from drunkenness. Pray for them.
¨ Praise God for Sukhdev who is restored from backsliding. Pray for Mahendar and Bijesh who are earnestly seeking to know Christ.
¨ Nowrang is desirous of holding cottage meet- ings at his residence through which the gospel can be presented to his neighbours. Manju of Nimkathana also boldly witnesses to her neighbours.
¨ Praise God for the believers whose faith God honoured when they prayed for a sick goat and received answer from God. The Lord blessed Onkarmal our believer with a camel cart. He asked our missionary to pray for the same.
¨ Pratap Singh of Srimadhopur is growing in faith. Hariram of Nim-ka-thana has completed a six week Bible training in Delhi. Pray for God’s guidance in his life.
¨ Pray for Buddiprakash and Yadkumar who are deeply involved in witchcraft. Their nephew Mohanlal who is a believer tends to backslide as he faces problems from these. Pray for Sonu and Vijender who are missing from home.
¨ Pray for Mrs. Santosh of Singhana who is suffering from breast cancer.
¨ During the first week of June, seven young men participated in the Summer Missionary Programme in partnership with Yehovah Nissi Nav Yuvak Samit in Banswara district. All of them committed to serve the Lord fulltime. U
CONGRATULATIONS !
Missionary couple Nirmala-Gunasekaran’s eldest son Samraj is the top ranker in the 10th Standard at Santhosha Vidhyalaya, Dohnavur, securing 91%. and transplant in us a heart of flesh !
Dr. Lilian Stanley
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91 9843511943
lilianstanley@gmail.com
Blessing Youth Mission
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91-416-2242943, +91-416-2248943
hq@bymonline.org
www.bymonline.org
Click here for more options
To buy books written by Dr. Lilian Stanley, kindly reach to us in the follwing address
Blessing Literature Centre
21/11 West Coovam River Road,
Chintadripet,
Chennai 600 002, India.
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blc@bymonline.org
What is Hardheartedness?
I was sitting in a Church, listening to the pastor preach on Mark 3:1-6. My heart started flying around the words “hardheartedness” like a bee around a flower and my mind jostled from one verse to another extracting the nectar. The net result was a honey-comb of information which enlightened my eyes. The Holy Spirit whispered into my ears to study the subject and discover my rocky heart to under stand more about hard- heartedness. We will cut the honeycomb into seven slices and eat them one by one.
1. It is refusing to understand God’s dealing in our life.
The first striking incident in the Bible about hardness of heart is Pharaoh refusing to release the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. There are many passages which say, “God hardened the heart of Pharaoh” (Ex 4:21). But we should not fail to put together corresponding verses which are windows into the other rooms of Pharoah’s life. We read, “Pharaoh’s heart was hard- ened” (Ex 7:13,14), and “Pharaoh hard- ened his heart” (Ex 8:15). In other words, God never hardens a soft heart.
He only hardens hard hearts to show forth His glory. We can also say that Pharaoh’s heart was hard ened as the Lord predicted.
During every trial, Pharaoh was probably getting more and more convinced that Jehovah God was greater than all his Egyp- tian gods. May be he was “almost” con- vinced like Agrippa (Acts 26:28). But when the situation eased he hardened his heart once again (Ex 8:15,18,19). There were many opportunities given to him to repent but he was stubborn. The Bible says, “His heart was not moved” by the miracles (Ex 7:22).
God works in our lives in various ways. Unless we let our hearts be moved by God’s dealings, our heart will become stony. Even the smallest of miracles He does in our lives— an escape from a fatal accident, someone sending us what we were just longing for— must catch our eyes and tickle our tongues to praise Him. Similarly whenever
He chides, we must be quick to understand and repent.
If Pharaoh had let his heart be moved he could have saved his country, army, people, firstborn and his soul. If you think Pharaoh could not have let his heart be touched of God because God hardened it, I don’t think I will vote for your opinion.
Very many years later the Philistines captured the Ark of God from Israel and were smitten with piles and mice. Is this the hand of the God of Israelites ? Though they could have hardened their hears they decided to appease the great Jehovah God.
Their priests said, “Why then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their heart s ?” (1 Sam 6:6).
When God deals with us, we must think, understand and bow our heads before Him in ack nowledgment that leads to actions (Mk 6:52; 8:17).
2. It is a destructive attitude.
There were three gallant men in David’s army who were given to hot impulses. David says of them, “I am weak today, though anointed king ; and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too harsh for me” (2 Sam 3:39).
Zeruiah was not a man, but David’s sister and the mother of the aforesaid three, Abishai, Joab, and Asahel (1 Chron 2:16). More sensitive than the pupils of the eyes, they were full of themselves and slaves to their own urges. We read of three incidents which reveal their harshness in three ways.
a) Vengeance
Abner was captain of Saul’s army. When Asahel, the youngest of Zeruiah’s sons gave Abner a chase, Abner warned him to leave him alone. When the gazelle-footed Asahel would not be discouraged, Abner killed him in self-defence. The backlash reaction of Joab is sad. Instead of breaking the cycle of hatred and revenge, when opportunity pre- sented itself, Joab stabbed the defenseless Abner to quiet his own nerve and celebrated a lacklustre victory (2 Sam 3:20-27).
The tragedy struck a cord deep in David. He considered Abner a prince and a great man and walked the extra mile to get him for his kingdom (2 Sam 3:38,39). But the cut- throats murdered him in a personal vendetta. David was also a shrewd man but for the sake of the kingdom he kept his suspicion at bay and embraced people. We learn two things here. We have to forgive and main- tain personal relationships for the King- dom sake. Secondly, we should not lose people by over-suspicion without proof of their infidelity. Just because we hate some- body or we are suspicious of someone, the Kingdom of God cannot afford to lose people. We are still weak and we need people. Let us sacrifice personal interests for the Kingdom’s sake and be broadminded like David.
b) Insecure reactions
Absalom made Amasa as his captain when he took over David’s kingdom (2 Sam 17:25). When the coup failed and Absalom died, the people came back to the king. Think of Amasa’s face with rotten egg all over. But David promised to make him commander of his army in Joab’s place (2 Sam 19:12-14). How tactfully David got the people on his side. May be David decided to promote Joab and give his place to Amasa. He was true to his word (20:4). The stage was thus set for a clash.
Joab saw Amasa as a threat to his position and murdered him deceitfully (2 Sam 20:9,10).
How sad! What a contrast to David’s soft heart and the hard hearts of the sons of Zeruiah.
Promotion comes from the Lord. Our security is in our position in Christ. No one can take it away. We should never reach for success by trampling on people nor defend our position by slashing who- ever cuts our path. That’s
hardheartedness.
c) Intolerance
The hardheartedness of the sons of Zeruiah is seen in another scene. Shimei came curs- ing and throwing stones at the king in his exile. If David had not been there Shimei’s head would have rolled off his shoulders in no time as Abishai drew his sword out. But David, crestfallen, said, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah ? So let him curse, because the Lord has said to him ‘Curse David.’ Who then shall say, ‘Why have you done so ?” (2 Sam 16:8-12). Again what a contrast between the two!
When David again sat on the throne, Shimei apologised for his hasty act. Again Abishai sprang up and demanded his execution. For David the battle was far from over. He lamented, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? ” (2 Sam 19:20-22). Compare with the disciples desiring to bring down fire to consume a village.
Tolerance is a Christian virtue. Especially when you have the power to hurt someone and you hold it back, God honours it. No wonder David was a man after God’s tender heart. Let us not spring up to slander, harass and hurt people for what they do to us. Let us not take the sword in our hand.
Joab was given a chance to survive. But after the rollercoaster events, Solomon had him executed when he joined Adonijah to make him king. It was not a matter of vengeance but so that more harm will not come to the kingdom (1 Ki 2:5, 32-34).
Let the end of the sons of Zeruiah serve as a warning to soften our hard hearts. The three died without a change of heart without letting the hard brick wall around their angry hearts to crumble.
3. It is disobedience to God’s Word.
When we read or hear the Word of God we must make a willing effort to understand it. Only then it will take root, grow and give fruit. Our reading or hearing must be action-oriented. Jesus said in Matthew
13:20,21, “He who received the seed on stony places : this is he who hears the Word and immediately receives it with joy ; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. But when tribulation or persecution arises because of the Word, immediately he stumbles.”
Before rushing to judgement let’s under- stand that there is a whole beam in our own eye. Practising God’s Word is getting that beam out chip by chip, chip by chip. We have no excuse for our disobedience. We judge someone but we do the same.
Paul says, “In accordance with your hard- ness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judge- ment of God” (Rom 2:5). Beloved, it is time to turn your darling sin out of doors. “He who hardens his heart will fall into calamity” (Prov 28:14).
When we believe the effectiveness of the Word of God it becomes easy to practise.
God’s truths can come to us in many ways. We must discern and believe the truth without hardening our hearts. Rebellion against the revealed will of God is hard- heartedness (Ezek 3:7-9).
Zedekiah did not humble himself before Jeremiah, the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the Lord ... but stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the Lord God of Israel (2 Chr 36:12,13). The
resul t : His sons were killed before his eyes and his eyes put out so that his last sight and memory would be the slaughter of his children.
Obey God’s Word at all cost and you will never regret it.
4. It is being an uncooperative family member.
Talking about divorce Jesus said , “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives.” He then strongly condemned flippant divorce (Mk 10:5).
Husband-wife relationship is a very delicate one and must be handled as a flower. When hearts are hardened the relationship dies.
Refusing to wipe away the tears from the eyes of the wife and listening to her problems, not speaking kind and gentle words to her, not doing the duty of a husband are all hard- ness. Similarly the wife can be hardhearted by blatant disobedience, by not trying to understand her husband’s physical, spiritual, so cial, emotional and other needs, by nagging and even by threatening divorce.
When relationship problems arise, sit together, listen to one another and let the Holy Spirit soften you heart to change. Then your marriage will have more chances of working. The Pharisees wanted a loose, un- binding, easy marriage. That is not marital “bond.” Marriage is sticking together through good and bad. In this era of convoluted ideas, God is permitting many to divorce when they pray and pester Him, not because that’s His will for them, but because of their hardheartness, their unwillingness to forgive, to accept to change themselves a little to suit the other person’s temperament. Alienated spouses, listen to m e ! Love is not moon- light, mangoes and music. You must work hard at it. Everybody has got enough reasons to divorce. If you let God soften your heart, you can resuscitate your relationship and be reconciled (1 Cor 7:11). Then get your marriage back on track.
Parents can be hardhearted towards their children by their negligence. In Job 39:13- 18 we read about the hardhearted mother ostrich: “She leaves her eggs on the ground, and warms them in the dust; she forgets
that a foot may crush them, or a wild beast may break them. She treats her young harshly as though they were not hers. Her labour is in vain.”
Little children are like eggs. If proper care is not given, they get crushed. Over- strictness, not understanding them, humiliat- ing them, pushing them beyond their capacity, excessive and cruel punishments, not express- ing love and appreciation, not spending enough time with them, leaving them to fend for themselves or watch the T V for long hours, leaving them with untrustworthy people are all hardheartedness. Remember one thing— you can never hug your kids too much. Teach them the Bible and lay down a good founda- tion for their future. Children can also be hardhearted towards parents.
There is also a commandment to be kind- hearted to poor believers. “You shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother” (Dt 15:7). When you see a poor believer many questions will dart across your mind. How can I help him?
Will my family object ? How many can I help like this ? Am I spoiling him by helping ? Etc. Sort out the questions and help sensibly. It is not at all difficult to pick out the deserving. If not all, select one or two fami lies and help them out.
5. It is Pride.
“His heart is as hard as stone, even as hard as the lower millstone.... He is king over all the children of pride” (Job 41:24,34). This is about the leviathan which may be a whale or crocodile.
Can you appease a crocodile ? It’s very being is so hard you cannot get through to its heart. Any plea to it is hitting your head against a rock. If we are so proud and hard by nature we need to change. Much of our bad nature can be changed if we take it up as a challenge and work on ourselves. Some- where we have to stop and think and change. Biology is not destiny.
Don’t let pride harden your spirit (Dan 5:20). Take a major gulp of humility.
Jesus saw a man with a withered hand in the synagogue. The Pharisees watched so they could accuse Him if He healed the man on the Sabbath day. Their mind was so rigid about Sabbath, they decided never to change. Even if it meant delivering of a man from his long-term illness it was unacceptable to them. It was ego. The Bible says Jesus was angry and was grieved at the hardness of their heart. When Jesus healed the man they went out to destroy him (Mk 3:1-6). Yes, ego pushes us well below the civilised standards of behaviour.
Conquering pride is an uphill task. When the Holy Spirit gently blows on our hearts and whispers, “You can change yourself and accept the better way of life,” we must let our hearts be softened.
6. It is rejecting counsel.
“He who is often rebuked and hardens his neck will suddenly be destroyed and that without remedy” (Prov 29:1). Pharoah was destroyed suddenly and without remedy.
“They have refused to receive correction. They have made their faces harder than rock” (Jer 5:3).
We should not always expect God to speak to us from the skies. It can come in the most unexpected way. Listen to it and live. Why should you be suddenly destroyed ? David had Nathan and Gath as his counsel- lors. Who were Solomon’s counsellors? Who are your counsellors?
In essence, har dheartedness is the un- willingness to be pliable or make an effort to change.
7. Necessary hardheartedness
Having studied hardheartedness we should not become jelly fish. Even Jesus whipped.
A master gave one talent to one of his servants and went abroad. When he returned and claimed his due, the servant replied, “Lord, I knew you to be a hard man.” The master did not refute. He said , “You knew I was a hard man, wicked and lazy servant. Then why didn’t you work harder ?”
When it comes to getting things done, unless leaders are hard task masters much will not be accomplished. Tender masters tend to make their workers lazy. All leaves sanctioned, all excuses accepted, all failures winked at— there is no challenge for the workers. A hard master with sensitivity to the worker will not only get things done but steps up the quality and sharpens the skills of his workers. In the same way parents need to be wisely hard too for the good of their children. Sometimes wise harshness is necessary to keep the family going in God’s will (Gen 16: 6 ; 21:10-12).
To get to the bottom of the problem, may be all of us are hard in certain areas. If while reading this article the Lord has put His finger and pointed out where you are hard, take a giant step forward by con- fessing it as sin (Ex 9:34).
If we are stiffnecked like Zedekiah or the Israelites, calamity will surely be our lot (2 Chron 36:12,13; Heb 3:7,8). But let us long and work for a humble, tender heart like Josiah (2 Ki 22:19). Like a refreshing cool breeze in a hot summer day comes God’s assurance that there is no heart too hard for the Lord to break. Under the New
Covenant, He has promised to remove our stony heart ¨ Debo’s family in Raijolle village and Guru in Naretta village face persecution for their faith.
¨ The Lord protected our native missionaries Jhitku and Prabhudas from a cobra.
¨ 116 patients were treated in our clinic at Ramagiri in June.
RAJASTHAN
¨ Praise God for the receptivity in the village of Jalpali.
¨ Akhilesh and Usha are among the new con- tacts. Rajkumar, Gopichand and Srichand who are interested in the gospel are to be delivered from drunkenness. Pray for them.
¨ Praise God for Sukhdev who is restored from backsliding. Pray for Mahendar and Bijesh who are earnestly seeking to know Christ.
¨ Nowrang is desirous of holding cottage meet- ings at his residence through which the gospel can be presented to his neighbours. Manju of Nimkathana also boldly witnesses to her neighbours.
¨ Praise God for the believers whose faith God honoured when they prayed for a sick goat and received answer from God. The Lord blessed Onkarmal our believer with a camel cart. He asked our missionary to pray for the same.
¨ Pratap Singh of Srimadhopur is growing in faith. Hariram of Nim-ka-thana has completed a six week Bible training in Delhi. Pray for God’s guidance in his life.
¨ Pray for Buddiprakash and Yadkumar who are deeply involved in witchcraft. Their nephew Mohanlal who is a believer tends to backslide as he faces problems from these. Pray for Sonu and Vijender who are missing from home.
¨ Pray for Mrs. Santosh of Singhana who is suffering from breast cancer.
¨ During the first week of June, seven young men participated in the Summer Missionary Programme in partnership with Yehovah Nissi Nav Yuvak Samit in Banswara district. All of them committed to serve the Lord fulltime. U
CONGRATULATIONS !
Missionary couple Nirmala-Gunasekaran’s eldest son Samraj is the top ranker in the 10th Standard at Santhosha Vidhyalaya, Dohnavur, securing 91%. and transplant in us a heart of flesh !
Dr. Lilian Stanley
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91 9843511943
lilianstanley@gmail.com
Blessing Youth Mission
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Vellore 632006, India
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