Fear Brings Callousness

FEAR BRINGS CALLOUSNESS

By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com

TEXT: Mark 9:23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

FEAR BUILDS IN SUCCESSIVE LAYERS. THESE LAYERS BECOME HARDER AND MORE CALLOUSED. THIS AT FIRST BECOMES A FORM OF SELF PROTECTION. FEAR WILL HARDEN YOUR HEART… MANY HAVE LOST THEIR HEART LAYER BY LAYER…

I have a large onion and a knife… I cut the onion in half… then I take a slice from the middle of the onion. I make the observation that the onion is in layers. I remove the outer layer it is the peeling. It is large and hard. The next layer under the peeling is a little smaller and not as tough. Each successive layer is not only smaller, but it is MORE TENDER.

TIME TENDS TO CRUSH A PERSON’S DREAMS… WHAT IS SO SAD IS FEAR COMES ALONG SIDE OF OUR HEARTS AND CALLOUSE AND LAYER HARDNESS ONE LAYER AT A TIME UNTIL WE LOSE ALL SENSE OF COMPASSION. WE OFTEN CALL THIS COMPASSION FATIQUE.

I have a friend that was having serious problems with her feet. Her skin was getting hard all on her feet. The skin got so hard and dry in was cracking and bleeding. Seems she had lost all the feeling in her feet. Her feet seemed to be to be getting hard and dying. Finally she broke down and told her doctor about the problem. He referred her to a good PODIATRIST. On the first visit he explained to her, that the hard skin was CALLOUSES. The soft skin was still there, just the callouses were covering her soft skin. The problem was so bad she had lost her feeling in her feet.

He told her it was OK and easily corrected. The doctor said in 3 visits your feet will look much different and your feeling will return. He explained the soft skin was still there, it was so covered by callouses and he would remove the old, dead, hard callouses. In the 3 visits to his offices he removed the layers of hard, dry, dead skin. Her feet returned to their pink color. The hard dry cracked bleeding skin was removed. The feeling in her feet returned. He warned her to never allow her feet to get in this bad of condition again. He peeled off layer after layer of callouses to make her feet healthy again…

AS WE ARE LOOKING AT LOSING HEART OR LIVING WITH HARD HEARTS LET US PONDER SEVERAL APPROACHES TO LIFE.

1. Never take a bath, just stink all the time? Seems everyone will smell you but you? We get so accustomed to the smell it does not bother us?

2. Never take a bath just get some expense perfume, cologne and after shave lotion? Cover up the smell?

3. Never take a bath just change to clean close?

4. Take a bath often just put your dirty close back on?

5. The smart, healthy choice is to take baths often, change to clean clothes and use deodorant?

Spiritually we have much the same choices.

1. We can stink to high heavens, never repent…

2. We can repent and not change,

3. We can make surface changes and revert back to the same old same old…

4. We can acknowledge we need to change our WORDS, DEEDS, and ATTITUDES and make plans and procrastinate or blame others. Look back? Go back?

5. We can fall at the feet of Jesus and submit to His authority. We can repent. We can change. We can change our words, deeds, and attitudes and be faithful and never look back.

We have daily choices then we become the SUM TOTAL OF OUR DAILY CHOICES.

*CALLOUS:

*To be indifferent, hard hearted,

*To become hardened, thickened,

*To show no emotion, no sympathy,

*To not show any feeling or any concern about others, about problems or suffering…

I WOULD LIKE TO TEACH A LESSON TO ME FIRST AND THEN TO EVERYONE THAT WOULD LISTEN: WE MUST PEEL BACK THE FEAR AND CALLOUSNESS ONE LAYER AT A TIME… PATIENCE AND PERSISTENCE.

WE NEED CHANGE! We need more than repentance. The issues of life come from the heart…

Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

U-TURN? Stay the same way you are? TO AVOID LOSING HEART OR HAVING A HARD HEART … WE MUST COME TO THE POINT OF DESIRING REAL CHANGE AND REPENTANCE.

Ezekiel 33:11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?