Did you know you could die from a hard heart? Literally?
There’s a condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy – also known as cardiac hypertrophy – a genetic malady in which heart muscle thickens and hardens, making it more difficult for the heart to pump blood. This can lead to heart failure, arrythmias, and sudden cardiac death. I recently read about an 18-year-old college football player who passed away because of this, no warning.
That was also the case for one of my long-time friends more than 10 years ago. He’d been the picture of health, active in numerous sports including basketball (he had played in college at the Division I level), triathlons, mountain biking, mud runs, and regular workouts at the gym. But at age 60 – young by today’s standards – he collapsed and died while on a business trip.
It’s estimated one in 500 people has cardiac hypertrophy, but most never know they have the condition because it’s not easily diagnosed. Most cases can be managed when identified, but it can strike without warning, including with athletes – as with the men I’ve mentioned. These are tragic, without a doubt. But a much higher percentage of people suffer from a very different, even more severe form of heart-hardening.
We sometimes hear about people being hard-hearted, meaning they’re insensitive toward others and their needs, even merciless and uncaring. Most of us wouldn’t wish to be described that way. But even worse are those whose hearts are hardened toward God. As Proverbs 28:14 states, “Blessed is the man who always fears the Lord, but he who hardens his heart [toward God] falls into trouble.” The Bible provides an abundance of examples, but here are just a few:
In Exodus, when God directed Moses to demand that Pharaoh free the Israelites after 400 years of slavery, we read the king of Egypt repeatedly hardened his heart and rejected Moses’ petitions. This despite the Lord demonstrating His power through miracles – transforming a staff into a snake, turning the waters of the Nile River into blood, swarms of locusts, and a number of other devastating plagues.
As God performed these miracles through Moses and his brother Aaron, “Pharaoh’s heart became hard and he would not listen to them” (Exodus 7:14). We read that or similar phrases in Exodus, chapters 7-10. This culminated in the final and most devastating plague of all: “Every firstborn son in Egypt will die…” (Exodus 11:5). Only then did Pharaoh agree to let the Israelites leave Egypt.
The Egyptian king wasn’t alone in having a heart hardened toward God. The Old Testament reveals Israel’s King Solomon, purportedly the wisest man who ever lived, developed a hard heart toward the end of his reign.
God had instructed the kings of Israel not to take many wives (Deuteronomy 17:17), but Solomon clearly ignored this mandate, which led to his downfall. “He had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines, and his wives led him astray. As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been” (1 Kings 11:3-4).
Then there’s the curious case of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He had seen God perform wonders through Daniel and his friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, even proclaiming, “Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries…” (Daniel 2:47), and “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent His angel and rescued His servants” (Daniel 3:28).
However, the king later became consumed with his own power, wealth and renown, regarding none to be his equal. “Is this not the great Babylon I have built…by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:30). To say Nebuchadnezzar was impressed with himself would be a huge understatement.
The consequence of his hubris was losing his royal authority, being driven away from his people, living instead with wild animals, eating grass like cattle for seven years. “But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory” (Daniel 5:20). Only after acknowledging God as sovereign and the only One worthy of praise was Nebuchadnezzar’s sanity restored – along with his throne.
Interesting stories, but what do they have to do with us today? More than we’d like to admit. Many people have hardened their hearts toward God, refusing to even consider the truths of the Bible. Attempting to share one’s faith with them is as fruitful as talking to a brick wall. Sadly, they’re missing out on the “abundant life” Jesus promised in John 10:10.
Others profess to believe in Jesus Christ and be His followers but also suffer from hardening of the heart spiritually. They turn deaf ears to what God is saying to them or refuse to obey commands that run contrary to their desires, choosing the short-term gratification of sin over eternal blessings.
They might go through religious motions each week, but for the most part behave like practical atheists. “See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God…hardened by sin’s deceitfulness” (Hebrews 3:12-13).
The Lord offers this warning: “…Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 4:7). Just as some of us have regular cardiac checkups, it’s always a good idea to give ourselves a spiritual heart check. Maybe having someone we trust, who will speak truth to us, assist with the examining.