When good people have hard hearts

People should be able to see a difference between those who follow Jesus and those who don’t. People should be able to clarify between a "good, Christian person" and a person who follows Jesus. 

Many people - most people actually - are good, honest, hard-working people who vote in all the elections, love their family and friends, attend church regular and prepare chicken casseroles when a friend has fallen ill. But, all of that does not make them a follower of Jesus. It is possible and very much a reality that many, many "good Christian people" do not know Jesus as Savior and many who do aren't following Him.

So, as God leads me into this study of hard heartedness, I want to look closely at "good people with hard hearts." Just as a reminder, hard heartedness does not mean mean or wicked. It means hard or cold to building relationships through which Jesus can be shared.

As many of you know, Vicki’s mama is in very poor health. Mrs. Bowen lived here in Lexington until January, when we moved her to Gainesville, GA where she could live with and be cared for by Vicki's sister, Kathy. Mrs. Bowen loved to cook. A big part of her identity was her cooking. But, as her physical and mental health deteriorated she could no longer cook anything. So, Vicki and were left with Mrs. Bowen's expensive mixers, bowls, pots and pans, and boxes of very good kitchen gadgets.

Vicki and I are good people. We love Jesus, we love our family, we are faithful to the church, we vote in all the elections, we pay our taxes, we work hard, and we don't live on credit - we generally pay cash for everything. But, now comes the question: What should we do with Mrs. Bowen's stuff? For that matter, what should we do with all of the stuff that used to be in our two outdoor sheds? In those sheds, we had some pretty high-quality stuff, including top-of-the-line baby furniture that had survived four boys and could survive four more. What should we do with expensive dresses and suits that we no longer wear? 

Some might say, "Let's have yard sale!" That would allow us to turn stuff into profit. But, who does that serve? Ultimately, self wins.

Some might say, "Let's donate it to a non-profit that resells the items very cheaply." That would be easy. And, it would benefit some . . . but it might not benefit those trying to rub two nickels together to produce dinner.

Jesus would say, "Open your eyes to families in your community and give your life away to those who need the stuff, and give it away with no strings attached." And, so that's what Vicki and I are systematically doing. The baby furniture and accessories have made their way to families experiencing crisis pregnancy, and to young and struggling couples. We've given some of Mrs. Bowen's cooking stuff to young people who are just starting out and need to outfit a kitchen.

The hard-hearted would say, "Oh, no! That's too much trouble. How do you know they really deserve it? How do you know they aren't turning around and selling your stuff at the flea market? That welfare bunch should have to pay something - they have to pay their way!" And, there my friends is the real rub of it. That's why it is so difficult to follow Jesus. Because though we believers live good and honest lives, Jesus says that even the ungodly live good lives. Jesus is calling us to live completely and radically different from the ungodly.

Look at Ephesians 4:17-19. In this passage, Paul makes some very strong statements: "Live no longer like the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against Him. They have no sense of shame. They live for their own pleasure and practice every kind of impurity."

Let me talk to you about traffic. I was in the Chick-fil-a drive through last Monday with what seemed like 500 of my closest friends. It was insane. The Cathy family can make a chicken sandwich, but they can't design buildings and have no concept of traffic flow. I was in Chick-fil-a gridlock hell. An elderly woman had unwittingly parked so that she blocked the drive-through release and was stuck in the drive-through line. She couldn't move. People began blowing their horns and some rolled down their windows and started shouting at her. I sat by the drive-through window, drinking my diet lemonade.

Then, I saw a solution. I got out of the van and approached her. She was white with panic. I told her that I would stop traffic so that she could get out and release the gridlock. All I had to do was stop one car, she pulled out, and everything began working more smoothly. But, as I raised my hand to stop that one car, the driver looked at me in disgust because she didn't understand. Then, she saw what was happening, she smiled, nodded her head in the affirmative and all was well.

Now, here's the thing.

Those who did nothing but blow their horns and yell at the poor lady were hard of heart toward the gospel. I'm sure many of them are really good people 99 percent of the time. A few may know Jesus. But, at that moment, their hearts were hardened to the gospel. They did not value the relationship with the woman as Jesus would have. They valued a chicken sandwich and a hurry-up-to-be-somewhere attitude more than they valued that woman. Their hearts were hard. There's no way they could have been of value to the Kingdom in that moment, and that saddens our Savior.

But, even the nice woman who stopped for me and patiently waited was hard of heart, too. Why? Because even though she stopped when prompted, her heart was hardened not to see the opportunity. I suggest to you that her heart was not as hard as others because she came quickly to tenderness, but she is an example of how easily it is to toggle between good and bad, and how good people can become hard hearted. And in that instance, opportunity for relationship-building is forfeited.

As I was convicted of all this - because I'm guilty, too, for daily moments of hard heartedness - I suddenly found myself in the mindset of allowing anyone and everyone to turn in front of me in traffic. In fact, I spent the rest of the week, stopping for people to turn in front of me in traffic.

The hard of heart would say, "No! It's my turn!"

The hard of heart would say, "I've got somewhere important to be! Out of my way!"

The hard of heart would say, "Scott, I can see helping the old lady at Chick-fil-a, but I can't see letting everyone turn in front of you for an entire week."

Really? What do you think it means when Jesus says in Matthew 16:24:  “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways (deny your self), take up your cross (take up your own burden) and follow me (because I’m going to take care of you.)” 

You see, we really don't believe that. We believe, "\God takes care of those who care for themselves." Well, hmmm, that phrase is not in Proverbs. That phrase is attributed to Benjamin Franklin, who most likely extracted it from Aesop's Fables.

No, you and I are to be unconcerned for self, completely putting all of our lives, hopes, dreams and goals into the hands of God through the Savior who loves us. And, as we do that, we are to be wide-eyed, open-minded and tender hearted to helping every single person on this planet above self and without prejudice. Do they deserve it? None of us deserves the sacrifice on Calvary, and so let's start there when we talk about what people deserve. When you can't love every single person above self, the end result is a heart that hardens to the gospel.

Do well today by others. You will find that as you do, your heart will become tender to the peace, joy, love and hope of our Savior. As we follow Him completely, in word and attitude and deed, He will massage our hearts to tender places and the answers to life’s questions will become crystal clear. Or, the questions just won't matter. And, that’s where we will go next week.