¹²See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. ¹³But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness (Hebrews 3:12-13 NIV).

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Since April, my heart doubted that spring was going to arrive in Alaska! On Mother’s Day, which was only a month ago, it snowed at my house and stuck around until the next morning, whereas on Mother’s Day in 2025, I was outside wearing shorts and gardening! I want to be “hardening off” plants instead of waiting for warmer weather. In Alaska, if plants are bought at a greenhouse, it is best to harden off the young plants as to not shock them from the sudden change of growing in a protected building to then growing in the unprotected outdoors. To harden off plants, they need to spend a few hours outside in an area protected from wind and direct sun and then brought inside for protection from the cool night temperatures. Gradually the time outside increases so they become stronger and more resilient to being unprotected once they are planted in dirt. It is process!

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Hardening off plants is good for them, but the hardening of hearts is not good! Often, it is also a process! Sin is deceitful in the way it slowly misleads us. Friends who trust each other often share concerns in confidence, but when one of them shares that concern with others to “pray” for them, then misplaced trust becomes the sin of gossip. Sin is deceitful in what it promises. Many careers promise success, but if someone’s sole identity is in their career accomplishments, then promised success becomes the sin of pride. Sin is deceitful when it calls itself names that do not sound like sin. Ambition is an admired trait, but when more and more of anything is desired, then ambition becomes the sin of greed. Sin is deceitful by making excuses before and after the sin to distort the truth. Continually excusing sin leads to replacing repentance with worldly “remorse." It isn’t just kids who are sorry for getting caught, rather than sorry for the sin act itself. These are just some of the ways sin is deceitful, and when it is ignored, it will slowly harden hearts to turn them away from God!

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What is God’s answer to the danger of hardened hearts?  He gives us each other – brothers and sisters in Christ to daily encourage each other to look toward God! Life is not a solo adventure! There are blessings and strengths in community, so we are called to encourage one another daily! Encouragers listen without judging, champion growth, check on others, and inspire hope while being steadfast. There are times when we hesitate to encourage others in hard situations because we think we will look confrontational, pushy, or even legalistic, but Scripture gives us a practical guide in knowing how to respond in all situations. Grace needs to characterize what we say and how we say it for our words to communicate truth effectively and lovingly (Col 4:6). Ask God for grace, discernment, and readiness to bring encouragement and restoration into the lives of brothers and sisters around us. Whether it is easy or harder, we can all step into being encouragers to build a thriving community with soft hearts!

We are given a warning and a gift in today’s Scripture. The warning is to guard our hearts against sin that turns us away from God. The Christian walk requires constant vigilance so sin does not sneak in. Sin is not a distant enemy, it is as close as an unbelieving, hardened heart! The gift, though, is encouragement from our community of believers! God gave us each other to encourage us toward soft hearts that yearn for Him. What a privilege to encourage each other every day to grow closer to a Living God!  

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Who are the people in your life that you share hard things with?

Do you love others enough to humbly confront them with sin they need to deal with?

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Your answers to these questions can soften your heart and the hearts of others!