My life changed nine months ago as my three boys and I picked up the sport of indoor rock climbing. While not a “typical sport,” rock climbing involves attempting to climb technical challenges and progressing in difficulty.

My boys and I were hooked immediately, and since then, we’ve managed to make rock climbing a regular part of our lives, typically going to the gym three times a week. We’ve loved the puzzle of discovering the correct route and the exercise of progressing up the wall. I’ve also loved that it’s been a bonding experience as we encourage each other to push past limitations.

Like any physical exercise, it comes with aches and pains, but the worst thing about rock climbing is the beating that your hands take each time you climb. It is very hard on the skin of your fingers, and almost immediately, callouses begin to form.

This thickening of the skin initially helps by protecting your skin from tearing under the friction. But surprisingly the opposite can also happen. As they build, these callouses become a risk because they can be torn off when making a sudden move or a difficult grab. And that damage is painful and can keep you from climbing for days until your hands heal back up.

That tougher skin which initially feels like progress or even a badge of honor is actually a risk. These tough areas must be carefully removed to prevent injury.

And the same is true in our spiritual lives.

As we serve God and seek to please Him, we also encounter many challenges. Discouragement, setbacks, and misunderstandings can take place, and in response to these, our hearts naturally toughen. The benefit is that we feel less pain, but without even meaning to, we can also become less sensitive to God and those around us.

The writer of Hebrews warns us of the dangers of a hardened heart:

“Today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts

as you did in the rebellion,

during the time of testing in the wilderness…”

Hebrews 3:7-8 NIV

Look at Jesus’ words in Matthew 13:15 (NIV):

“For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.”

As much as our toughness to endure difficulties can feel like leadership progress, it can easily leave us emotionally and spiritually dulled to His work.

Each week I have to file off the callouses on my hands to protect myself from injury while climbing, but am I aware of the more serious condition of my heart? Here are a few items for a quick diagnosis:

  1. Does your heart still ache with a desire to know and follow Jesus?
  2. Are you growing in appreciation or frustration towards the people God has placed in your life?
  3. Is there some wrong against you or your loved ones that you’re refusing to forgive?
  4. Are you actively living in sin that you need to turn from?

Our relationship with God is meant to be lived in the freedom of forgiveness, full of the fruits of the Spirit, without holding back or hiding parts of ourselves from Him. So when we see that we are becoming less sensitive, it is time to confess that to God, ask for His help, and then carve out time to focus on Him.

Because a leader with a calloused heart is a danger, but a leader with a tender heart is powerful in the hands of our mighty God.

Blessings,