Itching Ears

I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

II Timothy 4:1-4

In this passage, Paul essentially tells Timothy two things. The first is that he should constantly speak the word of God. He should teach and preach constantly and with devotion, using it wisely and with the proper attitude. And he warns Timothy that some will not want to hear the word of God, but will seek out men saying what they want to hear. And indeed, we can look around and see many who have done just that.

We see many who follow after men who tell them exactly what they want to hear: That serving God brings earthly riches, fame, or power. That after conversion it is impossible to forfeit salvation. That God is accepting of everyone without them making change in their life. And we see much condemnation of speaking the gospel in all its simplicity and truth. Indeed, at times those who speak the truth feel much as Paul did.

Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?

Galatians 4:16

And it is easy to look around and point our fingers at people who so obviously have found teachers that will tickle their itching ears. And it is easy to point at the teachers doing the tickling. But let us, as always, make application to our own lives. Do we close our ears to those things that we do not want to hear? Or do we truly want to hear the word of God?

Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?

John 6:60-61

There were times that the disciples had this problem as well. When they heard something that didn't sound like what they wanted to hear, they murmured. When we hear from a teacher or read in scripture something that seems to be aimed at our lives, how do we respond? Do we seek correction as Jeremiah did? Or do we murmur and complain? If we make application, we please God. If we complain and decide that the teacher/preacher is just wrong and mean, we have itching ears.

Do your ears itch? And if so, what do they itch for? For something that is pleasant and pleasing and requires little or no effort? Or for something that is true, solid, and has an eternal reward?