Having a Tender Heart

Having a Tender Heart

When the idea to write this blog on being a tenderhearted person came to me, I assumed I would just write it from the angle of the way we are to treat others.  However, as I was looking up scriptures for this blog, I realized this theme needed to have a dual message.

I will begin with the verse in Ephesians: 

(Ephesians 4:32) And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. 

In general, I have a tender heart toward others. I desire to help all I can and am frustrated when I cannot.  We should all put into practice the words of James 2:14-20: What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works... But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?)  and help those in need.  

Where I sometimes lack in tenderness of heart is not in the willingness to help others, but in the area of my own pride. 

After studying the Psalms again, I began the practice of starting each morning praying that God would take control of my day and that His Holy Spirit would enable me to produce the nine fruits if His spirit (see Galatians 5:22-26) as well as to be fully clothed in the armor of God (see Ephesians 6:10-18). 

I cannot be the person God wants me to be on my own; I need the power of the Holy Spirit.  Also, I cannot be the Christian I should be unless I ask God to change me.  Therefore, I have asked God to show me where I need to change and wept in repentance of my sins while striving to better please my Lord!  

Luke 13: 23-24 - Then said one unto him, "Lord, are there few that be saved?" And He said unto them, "Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able." 

(Romans 12:1-2)) I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.  

God showed me that I needed to learn to soften my heart toward others.  To be less reactive and more forgiving; less critical and more compassionate.  I tell you this not to be self-deprecating, but to encourage any of you also striving to be more tenderhearted.  And to know that if it is possible for someone as stubborn as me to become more tender, than you can too!

What I learned is that the biggest thing standing in my way of having a more tender heart is my own ego.  I am learning to let go of the need to be right or the need to be heard.  I am putting into practice the words of Jesus from Matthew 5:38-39 "Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also." and turn the other cheek when offended and walk away.  

I now pray more, forgive more, and am more compassionate. I desire to reflect the attributes of Jesus Christ, the peacemaker. 

This next verse brings me to the second part of this theme: 

(2 Kings 22:19 & 2 Chronicles 34:27) Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake... and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the Lord. 

Unless I allow my heart to remain tender and humble, I will never be able to permanently change. I will never be a vessel God can use. 

So many pastors like to teach that we are all called by God to be used by Him.  While this is true, these pastors leave out a crucial part of what the Bible says.  In Luke 11:39 (And the Lord said unto him, "Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness."), Jesus tells the Pharisees (and you and me) that we cannot just look clean on the outside (or use the title, "Christian") if we are dirty on the inside.  Saying you want to be used by the Lord is honorable, but if you are backbiting, quarreling, getting drunk, having sex outside of marriage, dressing provocatively, participating in false religious practices, glorifying the occult, or acting like the world in any other way, you better clean yourself up first!  Yes, this includes me!  I have learned to daily ( Luke 9:23 - And He said to them all, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross DAILY, and follow me".) soften up my heart toward others and be clean inside and out so that I can work for God not as a hypocrite, but as a humble servant allowing God to mold me into the servant He wants me to be.

(Galatians 5:15-21)B ut if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 

May we all be tenderhearted t0ward others in the name of Jesus Christ, but more importantly, we need to first be tender toward the Lord's correction and obey the principles of the Bible.

(1 John 1:6-10) If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 

Serving others won't mean much anything if we are denying the Father and living a Godless life. And serving the Lord will not please Him unless we can learn to love our fellow humans. 

(1 Corinthians 13:1-3). Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.