The Antidote for Itching Ears - By Chuck Ryor
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” - 2 TIMOTHY 4:1-5
There is a tendency in all of us to avoid hearing difficult truths. When we hear things about ourselves that are challenging to admit or are confronted with a Scriptural perspective about our beliefs (one which necessitates adjustment on our part), we may be tempted to look for voices that instead will tell us what we want to hear.
When we read a book or hear a message and feel judged, guilty, or shamed, sometimes I wonder if we’ve just been made uncomfortable by the truth. Perhaps the Spirit is tugging at our soul and we’re not listening? That’s not to say that there aren’t books I’ve read or messages I’ve heard that were harshly delivered or legalistic in their approach. Certainly it is appropriate to reject error.
However, we have to recognize our impulse to run from pain. Westerners (particularly those of us who have sat in front of televisions our entire life) have been bombarded with commercials promising to relieve our discomfort. We’re conditioned to think that whenever we feel pain, it is a bad thing and we should alleviate it at whatever cost.
This inner turmoil is particularly difficult to endure by those who’ve experienced physical and/or emotional abuse in their lives. Those painful memories make tolerating suffering difficult, and trigger the flight instinct whenever confronted with pain. Hence, when told that a behavior is inappropriate or a belief is out of accord with the teaching of Scripture, this person might be prone to find a convenient excuse not to hear what is said.
Some might think that ministers should never say anything that would make us feel badly. But speaking the truth in love is not only what Jesus did, but what the Apostle Paul said told his protege Timothy was the role of the pastor. Preach the word. Reprove. Rebuke. Exhort. Granted, that is supposed the done with patience (often missing in some messages), but the speaker can’t control how the hearer will react to the truth.
In life we value people who tell us the truth, even if it is considered bad news. I pick my news sources based on accuracy, not on whether they are parroting my hopes and concerns (let alone my opinions). We pay attorneys to tell us the truth whether we like it or not, and that usually keeps folks out of legal trouble. Do we really want to expect less from our teachers and preachers?
Yet the warning contained in Scripture is clear: at times, we will be tempted to gather around us many people who will tell us exactly what we want to hear (my sense is the deeper the conflict with God’s Word, the larger the group gathered to tell us differently). This, as opposed to what we need to hear. If we’re not careful and self-aware, our hatred for discomfort will cause us to turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths…things that are not close to true…thing that are not real.
The antidote for this particular weakness (our “itching ears”) is mentioned in the above passage: we’re to be sober-minded, and endure suffering. We’re to be clear headed, and recognize our instinct to avoid suffering we’ll cause us to stop listening to the truth. One of the great encouragements of the gospel is that Jesus has gone before us in this way. He soberly endured the cross and scorned its shame, and now sits at the right hand of God (Hebrews 12:2).
In Jesus we have a sympathetic Savior who knows how difficult this life of faith is. In him we can find the strength to endure the pain of hearing difficult truth, knowing that He loves us and will always love us, despite how challenging it may be to face the realities pointed out to us by others. It is precisely his love for us that gives us the courage to look into the abyss of our sin and not feel the crushing weight of shame.
I leave you with this thought from Dane Ortlund’s book, Gentle and Lowly: