Stubbornness vs Steadfast, what’s the difference?

“For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king.””
I Samuel 15:23 NKJV

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
I Corinthians 15:58 NKJV

Stubborn - having or showing dogged determination not to change one's attitude or position on something, especially in spite of good arguments or reasons to do so.

Steadfast - resolutely or dutifully firm and unwavering.

((Resolutely - in an admirably purposeful, determined, and unwavering manner.))

From another dictionary:

Stubborn - Unreasonably obstinate; inflexibly fixed in opinion; not to be moved or persuaded by reasons; inflexible

Steadfastly - Firmly; with constancy or steadiness of mind.

So we see here that the main difference is that stubbornness is basically the absence of reason.

A person who is stubborn won’t change their stance no matter how many sensible arguments you make against their stance.

What do I mean by reason?

Reason - the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgments by a process of logic.

(of a person) having sound judgment; fair and sensible.

Unreasonable - not guided by or based on good sense.

This thread is important because many people confuse stubbornness and steadfastness, both of which are found in scripture, one positive and the other negative.

The thesaurus lists these words as related (stubborn and immovable are actually synonyms), so it’s easy to get them confused, but I hope this thread helps you see the difference.