The year was 1986, a year hundreds of lives would be needlessly lost. On the Black Sea, off the coast of Russia, two ships would collide on one fateful day, hurling passengers into the icy waters below. When the investigation into the cause of the collision was determined, the disaster took a heart-breaking turn. The accident was not caused by fog, inclement weather, equipment failure, or radar malfunction. The cause of the accident was human stubbornness. According to news reports, each captain was well-aware of the proximity of the other vessel, but neither captain would yield to the other. Pride and stubbornness ruled the day, and by the time they came to their senses, it was too late. Many lives would be devastated as a result, stunning collateral damage due to stubbornness.
We too are on a collision course when we bulldoze our way through life, plowing over anyone or anything that gets in the way of our getting our way. Stubborn as a mule is a familiar idiom referring to reluctance or unwillingness to change an opinion, behavior, or course of action, especially when faced with opposition. As with many familiar sayings, that phrase has its root in Biblical truth, for God’s Word warns us to “Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding.” The Bible records for us instances of mule-like behavior on the part of humans, behavior that destroys the lives of everyone in their wake.
Pharaoh is one glaring example of moral obstinance, hardheadedness to an extreme. “Let my people go,” was the warning issued to Pharaoh through God’s spokesman, Moses. But despite of the devastating signs and wonders that obliterated the land of Egypt, Pharaoh was steadfast in his stubbornness, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go?” “How long shall this man be a snare to unto us? Let the men go, begged Pharaoh’s servants and countrymen. Our land is destroyed; surrender to their God and let them go! Pharaoh would not relent, but God would win this battle of the wills. When the angel of death passed through the land of Egypt, “there was not a house where there was not one dead.”
How many lives were sacrificed on the altar of stubbornness that dark night in Egypt? “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is an iniquity and idolatry.” Stubbornness is as idol worship? That’s God’s conclusion on the matter. Our stubbornness towards God, even in the smallest matters, can wreak ruin not only in our lives, but also in the lives of those we cherish most.
Proverbs 29:1 He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.
Lord, I can be so stubborn. Convict me when that dreadful sin overtakes me; remind me of Your view of that rebellious spirit.