Proverbs 29:1 He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy
Some years ago, I visited Kitty Hawk, North Carolina where the Wright brothers famously flew their first flying machine. I was very inspired. The remarkable story of determination and innovation brought tears to my eyes. I remember learning that when they were testing the new aircraft, they would keep journals of how the flights went. The journals would end with something like “SL” meaning soft landing or “HL” for hard landing. A soft landing was one that did not break the pilot or the plane. A hard landing was something different indeed. Every morning, we take off and every evening we come in for a landing. For some people every landing is a hard landing. Hard people choose a hard life. Hard people choose a hard landing.
What am I talking about when I say that? Well, Proverbs 29:1 says, “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” So, hard people choose a hard life and hard landing. They are hard-necked, hard-headed, and hard-hearted, and they have a hard life. Now, what do I mean by “hard”? We are talking primarily about pride and the ignorance that comes from it. Proverbs 29:23 says, “A man’s pride shall bring him low.” When I always have to be right, be the best, and never make a mistake, that is a hard landing. That pride leads to an ignorance of things that I have refused to see.
Are you determined or are you obstinate? There is a difference, but what is it? Being determined is a good thing. I don’t think anything worth anything would be accomplished without people who were resolute and determined. Is there a difference between being resolute and determined and being obstinate and hard-headed? I think for most of us our gifts or strengths can also be our weaknesses. For instance, a man can either be determined or obstinate. The difference is who owns the gift. Am I being governed by obedience to what God has told me to do, or is it just my own pride, ignorance, and hard-headedness? In other words, I am determined to obey God and think, “Come feast or famine I am going to do what God told me to do,” or I am governed by selfishness and think, “I don’t care what anyone says, I am going to do it.”
So, he being often reproved hardeneth his neck. That leads to destruction. Notice here that the sin is not the sins. You might look at someone and think they are always being reproved because they are always doing something wrong. The point is not the five things they have done wrong. The point is the one response they always have. Do you improve when you are reproved? How hard are your conversations? With some people every conversation is hard; they are defensive, obstinate, and always counter-attack because they feel they are being attacked. Every conversation does not need to be a hard conversation. We are not to avoid needed hard conversations, but some people have a hard life when it is not necessary. Hard people choose a hard life.
What do I mean that hard people choose a hard life? The Bible says, “He, that being often reproved, hardeneth his neck.” His neck isn’t hardened; he hardens it. It is a choice. We are talking about a choice, not a temperament. God is not asking you to change what He made, but that you give it to Him. If God made you a determined person, that is great. What He is asking is that you surrender what He made to Him so He is calling the shots.
What do we mean by suddenly? Hard people choose a hard life, and they shall suddenly be destroyed. A number of things are slow until they are not. People who are into firearms have a saying that slow is smooth and smooth is fast, talking about being able to get your firearm on target efficiently and effectively. People want to be a gunslinger and end up being dangerous because they are not smooth. The same is true when people try to learn American Sign Language. They think speed is important. They are sloppy and don’t learn because they are not deliberate. Slow is smooth; smooth is fast.
A hard person may go through life consistently every day with no speed, but always resisting reproof. My wife gives me advice; my dad makes an observation; my pastor preaches a sermon. Whether I am the authority in these situations or not, if I am always resisting everything as a direct attack, there will come a time when suddenly I am in trouble without remedy.
It is like gravity. If you are going to a peak that overlooks a thousand-foot drop off, the twenty steps you take to the lookout point are gradual steps, yielding to gravity a little at a time, but the last step, the one with the fence between you and the void, is a quick step. If you live a life of being hard-headed all the time, it is slow until it is not. Gravity takes its toll. The Bible says, “Shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” There is no hope. Verse 20 says, “Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him.” In other words, there is no hope. I would say the same for hard people. They are so busy replying and speaking, they don’t make it a habit to listen.
Maybe you have seen pictures of coastal homes that are undercut little by little until they plunge into the ocean. Just a little bit of sand is worn away every day. It goes slowly until it doesn’t. The tipping point occurs and the house is completely undercut. It drops into the ocean in a matter of mere seconds. There is a better way. Hard people choose a hard life and they always have a hard landing. May God help us to hear the truth and be responsive to what God says even when it is to people who live around us.