This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. (Ephesians 4:17-19)

Callus Hands And Callous Hearts

Identifying a man who works hard with his hands is always easy. Shaking the hand of a farmer, carpenter, or laborer will immediately give the sensation of a hard and callus hand. The roughness of the hands comes from repeated friction of implements against the skin. When the skin is subject to an unusual amount of rubbing, dead skin builds up to form calluses. The result is the callus forms a protective coating of skin, shielding it from pain.

The meaning of callus is a skin condition with hardened and thickened skin. On the other hand, the meaning of callous is to be feelingless, cruel, dispassionate, or unsympathetic to the pain and problems of other people. There is a similarity to a callus and being callous, but the callus is a noun and a verb, whereas callous is an adjective and a verb. Paul warns the saints to be careful about becoming unfeeling about the impact of sin. In a poetic way, sin can bring about calluses to the heart, causing the spirit to be callous toward lustful pleasure and every kind of impurity.

There is a danger of how sin can make the heart past feeling and wholly hardened in sin. The putridity of sin, with its nauseous odor of evil, can have little or no impact on the spirit of the child of God. As the hardened ground in the parable of the sower, the word cannot penetrate the heart with goodness. There is no feeling about unrighteousness. No emotion floods the soul with a consciousness of right and wrong. This callous attitude toward sin allows sin to continually fill the heart, ignoring the need to hate evil and turn away.

Paul warns Christians of the danger of their hearts becoming callous. If the callus nature of sin continues unabated, the child of God will see no wrong in what the Lord calls evil. Being callous to sin is to be hardened with the deceitfulness of Satan’s wiles, subjecting the heart to accepting what God condemns. The world is given over to all manner of wickedness. Their hearts are not filled with the Spirit of God. Being separate from the world demands the Christian remove the calluses that can coat the heart, causing a callous attitude. No matter what version of the Bible a person uses, sin remains sin.

One of the best oils to treat Bible covers is the oil of the hand. A Bible often used will become soft and pliable. Constant use of the Bible on the heart will remove the sinful calluses that harm the spirit and turn the callous heart into a devoted life dedicated to the word of God. Spend time working with your hands in searching the scriptures. You will find the soothing measure of God’s word to take away the callous heart and experience the joy of Jesus Christ. Clean hands and clean hearts. That is righteousness.