Stay Soft
I’m reading Exodus 8 alongside 2 Corinthians 3 today — In Exodus, its the story of the 10 Plagues – exhibiting the hardness of Pharoah’s heart toward letting the Israelites go – he just couldn’t see the obvious evidence right there in front of him – he couldn’t understand that it was him doing the harm to the country! He was torturing his own people by refusing to listen to to the will of God.
It reminds me of Libya’s recent dictator, and Syria’s current debacle where the leaders of the country were obviously insane for destroying their own nation. It was a classic example of the leader becoming obsessed with their own power, and end up eroding that power by trying to hold on to it. In Pharoah’s case, as in Gaddafi’s and so many others, it led to the end of their very lives. Power has such compelling, addictive qualities, and trying to relinquish it is eternally difficult.
But I am reminded of a “hardness of heart” far more sinister than even Pharaoh’s or Gaddafi’s.
In 2 Corinthians 3, The hard heart is not in a single person, but an entire nation. What started with an ecstatic worship experience at Mt. Sinai, where Moses was so close to the glory of God that his face had to be covered with a veil, as it was shining with glory! Such was God’s glory that the Israelites asked not to be put it it’s presence for fear that they might die. After all, look what happened to Pharaoh!
Overtime, however, the hardness of heart creeps in like plaque, undoing the raw, beautiful experiences that brought us to the convictions we hold to today. The hardness of heart in Israelites case feels more like the ebb and flow of the ocean on the rocks – at first it’s effects are imperceptible, but overtime, it’s power over stone is undeniable.
In my life, the “hardness” I experience looks more like the Israelites’ picture of the problem, rather than Pharaoh’s. It is the slow erosion of previous joyful worship experiences, of my earliest convictions, and sense of orientation. It amounts to a casual walk through the woods- where the paths continue to wind and turn; at first the journey is light and enjoyable, but soon becomes a frightening, disorienting maze without end.
So! Hold on to your heart. Hold on to hope! Cynicism and doubt are a relentless downpour in our world. Check your sources of input – do you watch nothing but the news? Do you read anything but doom-and-gloom? Then pick up a book of poems! Pick up the Gospels! Keeping your heart soft is possibly the most important task on earth, and its a daily habit.
Jay Abels are discussing.