Everyone Is Hardened . . .

By Elias Aslaksen

1. who sins against his neighbor and does not ask him for forgiveness.

2. who does not forgive from his heart, but only with his mouth.

3. who has said something wrong and does not retract it.

4. who puts on a show of love and friendliness.

5. who answers with harsh words.

6. who uses a harsh tone.

7. who cannot use mild words.

8. who has a difficult time honoring others, and does not like it when others are praised.

9. who has a difficult time finding others who are truly in need.

10. who never gives anything except from his abundance.

11. who is dissatisfied with his fate.

12. who despises his neighbor, in particular someone who looks down on those who have very little talent.

13. who is angry at his neighbor, instead of having compassion on him, and feeling sorry for him.

14. who becomes bitter instead of showing pity.

15. who does not requite evil with good, because the more evil a person is, the more love he needs.

16. who is not thankful for all things, because strictly speaking, we have not deserved anything at all.

17. who reproaches and finds fault with his neighbor instead of being kind and gentle, and thinking about how he could possibly help him.

18. who is not deeply apprehended of God’s goodness toward himself, and of His glorious words when he reads them or hears them.

19. who is not deeply apprehended of God’s blessings.

20. who thinks he has a right to make some demands. All demands are a characteristic manifestation of a hardened heart.

21. who does not love everyone from his heart.

22. who gives in to his sympathies and antipathies.

23. who does not have a living interest in sharing all good things with the others.

24. who is either dry and cold or lukewarm.

25. who goes around remembering all the evil the others have either said or done, and who forgets all the good they have done.

26. who is the same person when he comes home from an edifying meeting.

27. who is not interested in expressing his appreciation for others and in humbling himself.

28. who is stiff and stubborn, proud and arrogant, opinionated and puffed up, and conceited.

29. who reads God’s true and good Word, or hears it, and is in agreement with it, but is not sufficiently apprehended by it so that something begins to happen in his life immediately, in accordance with what he has read or heard.

30. whose heart does not always seek to please God and be acceptable to Him.

31. who does the work of the Lord slothfully.

32. whose heart is divided.

33. whose heart does not beat wholly for Him and for his neighbor.

34. who does not take all the exhortations in the Scriptures to heart in order to follow them faithfully.

35. whose heart is not broken and crushed.

36. who is not poor in spirit and who does not sorrow over himself.

37. who can commit a sin in thought, word, or deed without being deeply grieved over it.

38. who does not bow his heart in order to live faithfully according to all God’s Word.

39. who contradicts instead of obeys.

40. who is uninterested in what is either good or not good for the body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit. 1 Cor. 6:19.

41. who does not understand with his heart, so that he gets converted.

42. who does not have a beautiful and good or tender heart.

43. who does not melt together with the brotherhood. There is no excuse for this whatsoever.

44. who reckons that he can do whatever he wants with the earthly things he possesses.

45. who is foolish and in darkness, because those who are humble and meek are both wise and radiant!

46. who bears a grudge against someone, because those whose hearts are soft and tender are always kindly disposed to one and all.