"It shall be when he hears the words of this curse, that he will boast, saying, 'I have peace though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart in order to destroy the watered land with the dry.' The Lord shall never be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the Lord and His jealousy will burn against that man, and every curse which is written in this book will rest on him, and the Lord will blot out his name from under heaven. Then the Lord will single him out for adversity from all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant which are written in this book of the law." -Deuteronomy 29.19-21
Since the beginning, humans have wanted to do their own thing. They have wanted to be in charge, and have refused to submit to God. Even if the path they choose leads to destruction, and they know it, they can be so stubborn that they refuse to change. God has given people the freedom to choose, and they can choose to be stubborn and refuse to follow Him. But that path leads to destruction.
It isn't always wrong to be stubborn. There are times when the only thing that gets you through is raw determination, and the refusal to quit. We call this grit, and it's a good thing. But when we are stubborn to the point that it negatively affects others, and leads to destruction, that's not a good thing.
Men, it is easy to be hardheaded. We don't want to need help, and a lot of time we don't like to admit that we are wrong. The question becomes are you being stubborn or displaying grit? Grit refuses to give up when it knows the cause is right and worth fighting for. Stubbornness refuses to change simply because it doesn't want to.
God does not look with favor on stubbornness. It says He is unwilling to forgive a stubborn heart (because a stubborn heart does not seek forgiveness) and that His anger and jealousy will burn against the man who is stubborn. Is it worth it?
Let us be men of grit, who fight for a worthy cause until the end if need be. But let us not be stubborn and refuse to change even when we know we are wrong.
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
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