That title was enough to convict me deeply. In light of my last post about silencing my heart's communication with God, when I checked the Desiring God blog this morning, I knew God had a message for me in this post. As will be explained below, another motive for this harmful silencing (hardening) of the heart is for selfish protection. We hold back out of fear and greed, which snuffs out our heart's vitality. I believe this goes back to idolatry again, because our focus is off of Christ and on ourselves.I will copy Tyler Kenney's wonderful post here for you:
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“Guard your heart” is a good command. That’s because it’s biblical:
Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. (Proverbs 4:23)
In its context, this verse suggests that keeping—or guarding—your heart means to retain wise words and resist wicked desires. But I’m afraid some people—ahem, me, too often—use it to justify being cowardly or cold instead of loving others, because we think that “guard your heart” means “don’t get hurt.”
C. S. Lewis provides the necessary rebuke:
Of all arguments against love none makes so strong an appeal to my nature as “Careful! This might lead you to suffering.”
To my nature, my temperament, yes. Not to my conscience. When I respond to that appeal I seem to myself to be a thousand miles away from Christ. If I am sure of anything I am sure that His teaching was never meant to confirm my congenital preference for safe investments and limited liabilities.…
There is no safe investment. To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket—safe, dark, motionless, airless—it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell. (From The Four Loves, as found in The Inspirational Writings of C.S. Lewis, 278-279.)
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What are your thoughts about this? Does anyone else face this struggle?
Wow! I so needed to read this tonight. Thanks so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI can definitely relate to this! When you get hurt by something, anything, the natural reaction is to determine "OK, I'm NEVER going to do that again." (Think of when you get burnt from a hot pan) But when you determine not to love, for me anyway, I soon feel dead inside because you essentially stop your heart. Nothing feels good and nothing makes you happy until you begin to love again.
ReplyDeleteI hope your trials are soon over. You have a beautiful voice and I'd hate for it to get snuffed out even for a couple of days.
I can totally agree with this post! When we get hurt or trampled on by others, our natural tendency is to shut down. We don't really allow ourselves to trust or love anyone from the heart. Sure, we can act like it, but deep down, we're very guarded in our relationships. We tend not to enter in emotionally. Basically, when we do that, we're only half-living.
ReplyDeleteTo really love others requires vulnerability. And when you stop being so guarded and protecting yourself, that's when you begin to really live!
(Just some of my thoughts based on a book I read that dealt with this issue!)
Pete, you're welcome. Glad it was a blessing to someone else!
ReplyDeleteCoffeegirl, you are right. The natural tendency after we get heart is to pull back. "Never again" we resolve. But it slowly does it's work in our hearts, which is to silence and deaden. Not good.
Aww, that is sweet of you. I wouldn't necessarily label what I'm going through to be a "trial", but rather God is beginning to pull stuff out of the dark corners of my heart to redeem and transform. Your words mean a lot to me. Thanks.
Allison, great thoughts! It is the truth, we can shut down emotionally without seeming to on the outside - which is only half-living. Thank you for sharing those great truths. I'll be thinking about those today. Thanks for your comment.
Thank you for sharing this! I needed to read this today!
ReplyDeleteLovingcjm, thanks for your comment. I'm glad this was a blessing to you. :)
ReplyDeleteKaysie, I read, for the first time yesterday, your post and it so deeply touched me and then again today. I have felt like all you wrote about-so hardened, so unfeeling and I know that it is from trying to protect my heart from the pain of being unequally yoked for 28 yrs. But your writings have made me cry out to the Lord to break down the walls, to revive my spirit and so I say thank you. Bless you as you continue to write His truth for us.
ReplyDeleteIn Him, Noreen
I read that on DGB too... and like you said, the title itself really made me stop and think.
ReplyDeleteNoreen, thank you for your comment! What a blessing it is to hear how God is working in your life. I have been amazed at the connections with other ladies about this issue. It is something I hope to continue to pray about, confess, and surrender because Jesus is the only Person who can heal the wounds I have, soften and awake my heart, and enable me to respond in Christ-like love to others. I pray as I write this that God would do the same for you, Noreen. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteKaylene, I know! Isn't it true? Glad know other DG blog readers. ;)