WHEN SOFT IS GOOD
Hebrews 3:12-15 NKJV
12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; 13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, 15 while it is said:
“Today, if you will hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
There are some things that are good soft. Soft ice cream. Soft sheets. Soft tissues. And there are things that are not good soft. Soft soldiers. Soft mattresses. You can come up with your own lists. But there is a thing that is bad when hard and good when soft—our heart.
The metaphor of being hard-hearted is a very real thing as it pertains to our relationship with the Lord. And we can even carry this into our relationship with others. But in our verses for today, the writer of Hebrews is warning the believers to not go hard in their hearts. The underlying context of Hebrews is that some of the Jewish believers were wilting under the pressure from their fellow Jews who rejected Christ. The pressure was so intense that some were abandoning their faith. So the warning we see in our verses for today is stern. And the warning is not to allow their hearts to become hard and turn away from God.
That’s a blunt warning to not have an evil heart of unbelief. Turning away from the living God is a serious matter. Some have called it deconstructing their faith. The Scriptures call it evil. The warning comes with an admonishment to encourage one another on a daily basis. The encouragement was to stay with their faith in Christ and stay faithful to Him so they are not hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Sin will lie to you and tell you it’s okay, but all the while, you are becoming hardened to God and the things of God. And the more we give in to sin, the harder we become. This is why some people can do things today that would have been revolting to them years ago when they first came to Christ. They are not lost, they are hardened. When the Scriptures were warning these Jewish believers, their warning is still valid and applicable to us today.
The author continues by encouraging the believers to stay committed to Christ. They started their commitment in confidence and need to hold onto that confidence. And when they hear His voice, in the Scriptures and in their heart, they are not to harden their hearts as their ancestors did in the wilderness. The Book of Hebrews was written to people who knew Jewish history. They knew about Moses and how he led the people out of Egypt. They also knew how the people would not believe the Lord and how they did not enter the promised land. The children of Israel did not go into the promised land because it was too hard, but because their hearts were hard and they would not believe God. Having a hard heart is dangerous spiritually.
APPLICATION
The good news is that we don’t have to allow our hearts to go hard. I have seen it too many times. People start their walk with the Lord and are doing great. But life happens, and instead of turning to the Lord, they turn inward. They will tell me they need more “me time” and often drop out of church. I have never seen that turn out well. We don’t need more me time, we need more of Thee time. Poor rhyme, but you get the point. When we turn inward, our hearts can get hard. This is why we must continue to turn our eyes upward and reaffirm our love and confidence in the Lord. We can stay soft-hearted toward Him. And that is when soft is a good thing!
PRAYER
Lord, I trust You, and my confidence in You is stronger today than when I first came to You. I want to hear Your voice and respond.