Romans 2:5
"But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;"
What would cause a person to go from being a sweet Christian to someone who is bitter and hard and wants nothing to do with Christianity?
If you have been saved for any length of time, you have unfortunately seen someone take these steps. What is scary is that there are many Christians who are on the pathway to having a hard heart and they don't know it. Having a tender heart is imperative to God working in your life and keeping a close relationship with Him. Romans 2:5-9 shows us six detrimental steps you can take that lead to a hard heart.
Anguish is the first step towards a hard heart. It all starts with heartache and the anguish or pain you feel from the heartache. It is always natural to experience anguish during times of heartache, but you must be careful that you allow the Holy Spirit of God to heal that pain, for if you don't you will start taking the next step towards a hard heart.
The next step a person takes is tribulation. Instead of taking the heartache and using it to help others, they start enduring it. It becomes their tribulation. Yes, you may have to live with your heartache, but you don't have to make it a constant tribulation. You can accept it as Jesus accepted His cup, and use it to help others around you.
The third step is wrath. This is when the heartache starts affecting a person's attitude. This step is dangerous because they begin to lash out at others. Other people don't even realize what a person is enduring, but they become the source of attack from the person who is hurting. You must be careful when you are going through heartache that you are not filled with wrath and lash out at others.
The fourth step is indignation. This is where are person becomes indignant because when others try to help them, they become angry thinking they truly don't understand. Friend, don't become indignant with those who are trying to help. They may not truly know what you feel, but at least they care enough for you to try and help or comfort you.
The fifth step is unrighteousness. At this step a person has given up. They feel that it is useless to continue to serve the LORD, so they start living a sinful life not realizing that they are not making things better, but they are making things worse. Heartache is not an excuse to sin. Never let your heartache drive you to unrighteousness.
The sixth step is being contentious. At this step you challenge everyone and what you used to believe. At this point is where you have a controversial attitude towards the principles of the Scriptures. Many people who have compromised the faith and are contentious towards those who still stand are people who are simply hurt and didn't handle their hurt right.
Friend, when you take these six steps, you will eventually end up with a hard heart. It all starts out with not handling your hurt properly. Don't let your hurts from life drive you to a hard heart. Daily ask God to help you keep a tender heart and to teach you through your heartache. Only God can help you through your hurts, and His help is the cure for your heartache. Don't let the hurts you face break you, rather let them become tools you use to help others.