Keeping your heart

It is very sad when good people become victims of their own stubbornness. They are prepared to accept the consequences of calamity, rather than humbling themselves. We ought to keep our heart with all diligence. This is easy to say, but not easy to do; particularly when things are not going well for us.

Two statements from the book of Proverbs have particularly impacted me. Firstly, ‘He who hardens his heart will fall into calamity’.
Prov 28:14. And secondly, ‘He who stiffens his neck will be broken suddenly beyond remedy’. Prov 29:1. The Lord Himself, even with His enduring patience, finally allows the stubborn person to fall into calamity.

Cain was one such man. His calamity was the result of ‘stiffening his neck’. However, it did not have to be that way. His offering was not accepted because it was not commensurate with him as a person. What an amazing thought that the Lord accepts or rejects us on this basis. Cain was evidently not being Cain. And so the Lord said to him, ‘If you do well shall you not be accepted?’ Gen 4:7. An acceptable offering is one that is representative of the offerer. When his offering was rejected, Cain rose up in anger against his brother and killed him. The Scriptures call this type of response ‘the way of Cain’. Jude 1:11.

We’ll recall that the Lord asked him, ‘Where is your brother?’ And he replied, ‘Am I my brother's keeper?’ Cain responded with remarkable composure. As we mature in life, we learn to maintain our composure under pressure. The ability to keep our demeanor and to rule our spirit demonstrates self-control. Nevertheless, this is not always a virtue. This response may simply demonstrate a ‘hard heart’ or a ‘stiff neck’. In the case of Cain, his composure demonstrated his stubborn resolve. He did not take heed to the word of the Lord to him.

Over the years I have seen many people walk away from Christ when change was imposed upon them. The change was not of their choosing, and they could not see God’s hand in their lives. The Scripture has much to say concerning our hope and future, even when we are in a dark place. In the time of the Babylonian captivity, God reassured His people: ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope.’ Jer 29:11. When you are experiencing difficulties and trials, you can choose to go the way of Cain or allow the Lord to work in your life.

The psalmist urges us not to grieve the Lord as the ancient Israelites did when they grumbled against Him. They sought to resolve their conflicting situations on their own terms. ‘Today if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as when they provoked Me’. Heb 3:15. This is such a serious warning. Let us exhort one another daily, ‘as long as it is still called “today”, lest any of you be hardened’.
Heb 3:13.

David Falk

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Feature Articles
August 2008

Keeping your heart

Bearing His reproach

The staff of bread

The harmony of life

Honouring fatherhood

Elders and Deacons

Showing Virtue in tragedy

Becoming a seeker

The Goodness of God

The devotion of your youth

Increase by labour