HOUSE OF ROBERTS BLOG

I think having to be tough comes with the territory of being a dad. You have to be tough in one sense because you carry a lot of pressure. You have to provide for your family, which means working at jobs that are hard or that you might not like. You have to wake up early, go to bed late, and deal with the middle-of-the-night drama that happens with the kids. You also have to show those boys of yours that you can still dominate them in sports and wrestling matches, and you definitely need to be able to intimidate that young punk who is coming to take your daughter out for her first date.

The tension we have to manage is to have that thick skin but to make sure that our hearts remain soft. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” In other words, the condition of your heart is a big deal to God and has a huge impact on your life. So yes, it is good to have a thick skin, but as a man you have to make sure that you don’t allow your heart to become hard. That is, you don’t become a man who lacks compassion, and you are open to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. It also means that you aren’t apathetic about life or people, and you choose the “narrow road” as scripture says of following God daily and submitting to His will. 

How’s your heart dad? I know you have a lot on you right now. I know that there is a lot of pressure in your life and you have had to be tough, but has that begun to mess with your heart? 

In the Bible, David the Shepherd King, is a perfect example of a man who had a thick skin, but also had a soft heart. So much so, that God said of David that he was a man after His own heart. David killed giants, defeated mighty warriors, and lead the deadliest group of warriors found in scripture. There is actually a chapter in the Bible, 2 Samuel 23, that lists out his most famous warriors and what they accomplished. David was a tough dude, he had a thick skin, and he could take on hard tasks and accomplish them. Yet, he had a soft heart. All you need to do is read some of the chapters in the book of Psalms that he wrote to see a man whose heart remained tender. What was his secret? 

David never took the credit for his victories, He always gave glory to God. The journey to a hard heart is to start thinking that your success is all because of you. A man who has a soft heart is one who understands that God gets the glory for his life. God made you, He gifted you, He sent you His Holy Spirit to empower you, and He should get all the glory for it. Yes, you worked hard, and yes you stepped out in faith, but don’t keep the praise; give it to where it belongs. 

When David was confronted with a shortcoming, he didn’t cover it up or make excuses. He accepted the punishment, asked God for forgiveness, and prayed that God would change His heart. I think this alone will revolutionize your life. What do you do when the Holy Spirit, himself or through someone else convicts you of something? The road to a hard heart is one paved with unrepentant sin. It’s not easy to ask for forgiveness or to admit you are wrong, but it is necessary to guard your heart.

David understood that he could not accomplish everything on his own and that he would need the help of God. David did crazy things in his life. He went from being a shepherd to a king. However, he knew that he could not do it all on his own, and that’s why many of David’s Psalms are of him asking God for help. When you feel like it’s all on you, your survival instincts begin to kick in and you begin to harden your heart. Dad here is the truth, it isn’t all on you. God has a part that He wants to play in your life, and what He asked you to do, you can’t do on your own anyway. Therefore, don’t try; acknowledge where you fall short and ask the Creator of the Universe for help. He won’t let you down. 

Dad, keep being tough; we need strong men like you in this world but fight to keep your heart soft so that you can also be someone who God says, “That is a man after my own heart.”