August 26, 2019

Watching out for hardening of the heart


Yesterday my devotional guide ended its review of Ephesians and I’m supposed to be in Philippians, but I cannot leave Ephesians. Chapters 4-6 are favorites and as I read, God gave me a command with a list of things to avoid . . .

Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. (Ephesians 4:17-18)

The command is to abandon my old life and not live as a person without faith. That happens to people who are ignorant of God because they have hard hearts. A hard heart can develop in Christians too, as when I refuse to listen to a repeated reminder or decide to be ‘tough’ about something painful. It can happen when I want something even if my heart says I should not, but I persist instead of running the other way.

A scan of 4-6:9 gives me some symptoms to watch for in case I’m letting my heart get hard.

Callous = losing the ability to feel shame.
Sensuality = indulging in sin without any restraint.
Greedy = desire to have more and more regardless of need.
Impurity = engaging in moral filth.
Deceitful desires = wanting something because I have believed a lie.
Falsehood = deviating from or perverting the truth.
Angry with sin and not dealing with it quickly.
Stealing rather than working = taking what is not mine rather than doing any necessary work.
Corrupt communication = unsound, useless, harmful words.
Grieve the Holy Spirit = make Him sad, a sorrow that I will feel also.
Bitterness = resenting someone.
Wrath and anger = intense anger that doesn’t last, or long-term anger that hangs on.
Clamor = screaming or shouting.
Slander = abusive words that harm the reputation of others.
Malice = hostility, wanting to harm others.
Sexual immorality and impurity = self-explanatory.
Covetousness = same as greedy.
Filthiness, foolish talk, crude joking = everything from witty jesting to speaking obscenities.
Speaking of things done in secret = akin to gossip about gross speech/behavior of others.
Foolish rather than understanding the will of the Lord = self-explanatory.
Drunkenness = excited by too much alcohol .
Lack of submission = refusing to let anyone have their way, including my husband or others in authority.
(Ephesians 4:19–6:9)

The point? If I start or indulge in any of the above, this indicates a hardening of my heart toward the commands of God and a beginning of acting like a person without faith, without Christ and without eternal life.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Lord Jesus, this lists only the negatives yet there are also positives in this passage that each have opposites that I should guard against. For instance, You say to make wise use of my time. The opposite of that is squandering and wasting it with trivia and selfish pursuits. This also is hardness of heart that nurtures ignorance as well as giving me a poor testimony of Your incredible grace and mercy. You have delivered me from my old sinful life. What a tragedy to fall back into any of it — and the above list gives me a few things to confess and turn away from. Thank You for speaking so clearly!

Today’s thankful list . . .
Walking and talking with God about all the above.
Making a dent in a case of peaches.
A call to pray for a woman in need.
Tuna salad and cheese biscuits.
Sunny days and cool nights.
God is sovereign.
God forgives all my sin.


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