soft heart, hard heart

Blessed is the one who fears the LORD always,

but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity.

Proverbs 28:14

I want a soft heart that will hear God’s Word and love Him with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength! This warning found in this proverb is quite sobering. We can be tempted to think that faith is just a personal choice. That’s the pressure from our secular culture creeping in. Our world would have us think it is just one of many choices or paths to personal peace and happiness. But to reject God.... to reject Christ... is to harden one’s heart in sin and fall into deep personal catastrophe.

In the past ten years we have witnessed this erosion even at “leadership” levels among American evangelical Christians. Some of it is the result of the weird Christian sub-culture we created that elevated musicians and celebrities to admired status. Christian “music artists”, Christian “internet celebrities”, even some pastors and popular authors have publicly decided to “deconstruct”, “de-convert”, and leave Christian faith behind. To hear them talk about it, they feel liberated. The scriptures call this apostasy, and theirs is not a good end in that choice. Almost all of those who publicly do this state some issues they have had with some part of biblically directed Christian moral teaching. This proverb would call what they have done a “hardening” of the heart that will lead to calamity. The world applauds their actions as “brave”. God calls it foolish. We should weep for those who do this. And we should guard our own hearts, doubling down on faithful trust in God.

Lord,

I weep to see the calamity of rejecting the gospel that is pretty regularly celebrated by those who have rejected Jesus. Oh Lord, You are a faithful Shepherd. You can sovereignty draw even these people for whom You gave Your life to Yourself. You who leave the 99 to rescue just one lost sheep must be broken for them as well! You want to deliver them from the catastrophe that awaits them.

I am resolved to trust You always, to reverently fear my God, and to keep the gospel ever pliable and new in my heart to share even with those confused by our cultural lies. I trust You. Lord, You know what You are doing. You have me and my times firmly in Your hands.

Amen