TOO STUBBORN

Some people are as stubborn as a mule. That is a quote that describes what most of us are like in our old natures. Some other words that describe stubbornness are: obstinate and bullheaded. One definition for stubborn is: “hard to get along with”. We don’t like for other people to tell us what to do. It is difficult for us to believe what we have not seen ourselves. It was the same way with Jesus disciples. Somehow it never soaked into their hearts what Jesus was teaching them about how his body would die and three days later be raised back to life again. The women who went to the graveside, came back to tell the disciples that Christ had risen, but they just couldn’t get themselves to believe it. We are not that different from those disciples today. Jesus makes many promises to us today, but many times we are too stubborn to believe them.

“Still later Jesus appeared to the eleven apostles while they were eating.

He put them to shame for their unbelief and because they were

too stubborn to believe those who had seen him alive.”

Mar 16:14 GW

Unbelief is a much greater sin than what we often think it is. Unbelief kept the Children of Israel from being allowed to go into The Promised Land. Unbelief is what is going to keep the majority of people from going to heaven. It is a very serious offence to God when people choose to not believe God’s Word. God likes for us to be stubborn when it comes to doing what is right, but he hates it when it comes to our stubbornly refusing to trust him. In I Samuel 15:23 the Bible says that stubbornly taking our own way is as serious a problem as worshiping idols or participating in immorality.

In 1974, almost thirty years after World War II was over, in the jungles of the Philippines Lt. Hiroo Onoda at age 52 finally surrendered his sword to President Ferdinand Marcos on the island of Lubang where he had fought World War II, not knowing that the war had ended and peace had been made for three decades. Loudspeakers, leaflets and an offer of $400,000 had not persuaded him to surrender. When he finally surrendered reporters asked what had happened during those 30 years on the island. His reply, "Nothing, nothing pleasant happened to me in all those years."

Lt. Hiroo Onoda is a perfect illustration of the foolishness of being too stubborn. When we choose to hang on to our stubborn ways, we always lose out on the best years of our life. This is especially true when it comes to obeying the word of God. Yielding to God’s way brings us the very highest quality of life. Precious life is wasted and can never be regained when we are too stubborn.

Alvin Yoder