I Samuel 15:23 “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.”
How many times have you heard a person say “Well I’m just stubborn”? I have many times (it has even been ascribed to this author a few times). I used to accept the label of “stubborn” as a compliment. After all, that means I will be stubborn enough to resist the Devil and sin too, right? It wasn’t until my morning devotions several months ago that I came across this shocking discovery: the word “stubborn” has no good association in the Bible! There are 7 verses containing stubborn(ness). You will find that the things associated with stubbornness are: Gluttony, Drunkenness, Rebellion, Idolatry, Iniquity, Disobedience to God, and a quality used to identify the strange woman in Proverbs 7. This doesn’t sound like a list you want to be associated with!
So now that we have established that “being stubborn” is NOT good, is there a Biblical terminology to describe what you desire to be? Yes! I believe the quality that is often mislabeled as the “good kind of stubborn” is the word “steadfast”.
To be stedfast means you are unmovable! A deeper study will show you that to be stedfast is to be constant and firm; not fickle or wavering! I Corinthians 15:58 challenges us to be “stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.”
You see if you are stedfast, you have your mind fixed on doing the work of the Lord! It will keep you from wavering! The danger of being stubborn is that you will be just as stubborn towards God moving you as you are the Devil moving you! A stubborn person refuses to admit wrong or change. A stedfast person accepts correction and resists temptation because they want to stay in the Will of God!
The next time someones calls you stubborn (as a compliment), say “No! I am stedfast!”
Pastor James Young
Living Hope Baptist Church | Jasper, IN
