Heart calluses ∙∙

Heart calluses ∙∙

I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ. – Romans 11:25

Ephesians 4:18-19

18 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.
19 They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.

The most common calluses are those we get on our feet and hands. These external calluses are thick, hardened layers of skin that develop from repeated friction, irritation, or pressure on the skin.

These hardened skin layers or calluses are your body’s way of protecting the underlying skin from irritation and pressure. For most people, eliminating the source of friction or pressure makes calluses disappear.

Internally, calluses are chalklike concretions that form in the tissues or small joints. They can slow or completely paralyze movement. When a bone is broken, set, and recovered, the area becomes thicker and harder than the original bone. The healed area is also called a callus (Barclay).

Ephesians 4:18 Due to the hardness of their hearts.

The Greek word translated as “hardness,” “callousness,” or “insensitivity” is porosis. Porosis is derived from the Greek verb poroo to harden, petrify, render insensitive (Mark 3:5, Romans 11:25, Ephesians 4:18). Poros originally meant a stone that was harder than marble. Finally, the word came to represent the loss of all power of sensation; it described something that had become so hardened and petrified that it could not feel at all (Barclay). Metaphorically, it meant the stubborn unwillingness to learn (Louw-Nida).

Physical calluses are rarely a problem. But spiritual calluses are quite a different thing. It is a state devoid of feeling and mental awareness (Zodhiates). Such hardening is one of the primary characteristics of soulishness, fleshliness, or unbelief.

Before we became children of the King, our lives were often mired in pursuit of superficial, empty things that did not matter. Our minds, shrouded in ignorance, became darkened, leaving us blind to the deeper truths of life. The result was grim and terrible: our hearts were petrified and turned to cold, unyielding stone. Our ability to feel genuine compassion was greatly diminished. We allowed our minds to grow rigid, losing the ability to adapt to new ideas and perspectives (Barclay).

Sadly, even among those who are children of the King, many continue to carry the burden of these hardened hearts. This inner struggle often manifests as a reluctance to embrace change or to connect empathetically with others, holding back the transformative love and grace that our faith calls us to embody.

Spiritual petrification or dullness is the heart’s response to the irritation of sin and its consequences. Repeated sin has a petrifying effect. At first, people may regard sin with concern. When they sin, remorse and regret enter their hearts. But, if people continue to sin, there comes a time when they lose all sensation and can do the most shameful things without any feeling at all. Their consciences have become petrified (Barclay)

REFLECT & PRAY

To eliminate heart calluses, it is necessary to remove what causes them, or they re-form.

Father, You desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part, You will make me know wisdom. Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow (Psalms 51:6, 7).

INSIGHT

The heart describes the root of our unconscious and conscious motivation (Constable). Hardening of the heart is an expression found in both the Old and New Testaments. It occurs many times in the book of Exodus concerning the stubbornness of Pharaoh. Upon closer inspection, sometimes the Pharaoh hardened his own heart. At other times, the God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. In each instance, one of two different Hebrew words is used to describe Pharaoh’s heart: qashah (difficult) or chazaq – (strong). However, in each case, it refers to the Pharaoh’s stubbornness and inflexibility (UBS).

The outward signs of heart calluses include stubbornness, willfulness, obstinacy, and rigidity. When we become set in our ways, we become unwilling to change. We make up our minds and refuse to budge.

In the case of physical calluses, removing the source of irritation is necessary to prevent them from recurring. The same principle applies to the calluses of the heart. However, this creates a practical challenge for each child of the King, as we often do not understand our own hearts as well as we may think we do.

Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is the most deceitful of all things and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?

Yet we are assured that the Father Himself knows the condition of each person’s heart and the source of every callous.

Jeremiah 17:10 I, the LORD, search all hearts and examine secret motives.

David carried the weight of calluses on his heart, formed through the hardening that came when he contemplated and pursued his sin with Bathsheba. Yet, out of this brokenness, we receive a powerful example of spiritual introspection and healing. David offers us a heartfelt prayer—a guide to uncover what lies deep within our hearts. Through his example, we learn how to identify and remove the sources of spiritual “heart disease,” allowing us to seek restoration and renewed intimacy with the Father.

Psalms 139:23-24

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

The word “wicked” signifies more than just outwardly sinful actions; it also refers to patterns of thinking, attitudes, or desires that lead one away from God’s truth and holiness. It implies behaviors that can be hurtful, causing pain or sorrow to oneself, others, or even to God.

David is not satisfied with mere surface-level obedience; he desires God to reveal anything hidden in his heart that could lead him astray. This verse illustrates David’s humility and his willingness to surrender his life to God’s guidance. It emphasizes a longing for a life free from sin and focused on eternal matters, described here as “the way everlasting.”

A teachable spirit goes a long way.

Proverbs 12:1 To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction.

“When we cannot understand ourselves or comprehend our feelings, God invites us to take our internal struggles to Him and ask Him for insight. He understands what we do not, and knows what to do when we don’t” (Stanley).

¯_(ツ)_/¯12-11-2

© Dr. H 2024