Elder’s Corner: “Lord, Soften My Neck, Please”

In Proverbs 29:1, we find this: “A man who hardens his neck after much reproof will suddenly be broken beyond remedy” (NASB). You can take a piece of wire and bend it back and forth until finally it breaks. I dropped a glass vase on a concrete floor once and no amount of glue could have restored it.

This phrase “hardens his neck is not a common one today.” But we do have some similar: “he is so stubborn he will cut off his nose to spite his face” or “I’ve never met a more obstinate person.” Another phrase that God used to describe His people who refused to be obedient was the term “stiff-necked people,” as in Exodus 32:9 (NKJV). “And the LORD said to Moses, "I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people!” This was after God had been so good to them and delivered them from Pharaoh and the Egyptians. The people cast a molten golden calf to worship instead of the God who saved them. In Acts 7, we read of Stephen’s (martyr) sermon to the “religious leaders” and he uses this narrative in verse 51 (NASB). “You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did.” This verse points out that “these people” had the appearance of being holy and righteous—they had done the legal requirements (circumcision) but their hearts hadn’t changed.

So what does it all mean? It sometimes scares me, because I think it means I can sit in church with others who appear to be followers, and yet if I am unwilling to let God have total control of my life, I am no better than those who have hardened their necks and won’t listen when God wants us to change, be tender-hearted, and obedient to Him. Sometimes, He speaks to me through the advice of a real friend who sees in me something that I need to change. Which reminds me of a favorite Proverb, “Wounds from a friend are better than kisses from an enemy” (27:6 NLT). So I hope your prayer will be like mine: “Lord, soften my neck, please” because I sure don’t want to end up like that vase, broken beyond remedy.

—Alan