THE DANGER OF WANTING TO HEAR WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

2 Timothy 4:3-4

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

There’s a very big problem in our world today and it’s leading people further and further away from where the Lord wants them to be.

What’s the problem?

It’s the “all about me” movement.

Maybe you’ve seen this in action. Maybe you’ve even been a willing participant.

The “all about me” movement is all about self. It’s an attitude that looks something like this:

I’m happy and satisfied in life as long as I get everything that I want, whenever I want it.

And we can add...

And as long as I read or hear something that aligns with what I want to believe, then I will accept it. Otherwise, I will not only reject it but attack it and anyone who might hold beliefs counter to my own.

If you’re not witnessing this then you aren’t paying attention.

In regard to the latter, only wanting to hear what you want to hear, there is a farther reaching concern beyond causing societal issues. For when one operates with an unwillingness to hear the things that the Lord wants them to hear, then it not only keeps them from developing spiritually as He desires but possibly from accepting the free gift of salvation He offers through His Son Jesus. Yes, Satan will use a person’s self focus against them to shield them from the influence of the One who wishes to save them.

This problem isn’t just a present day one. For as we see over and over and over again in the scriptures, current issues were often present more than 2,000 years ago in biblical times. In the case of people only listening to what they want, consider these words from the Apostle Paul as he writes to Timothy, his missionary partner and pastor of the church in Ephesus:

For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. Vv. 3-4

To add a little context here, these words come in a section of scripture where Paul is sharing a lot of prophesy regarding the last days where he asserts there will be “very difficult times” (2 Timothy 3:1 NLT). Moving through the rest of chapter 3 and into chapter 4, Paul shares a lot of what one will expect to see preceding Jesus’ return to judge creation.

So as we see in verses 3 and 4, people of the world will reach a point of intolerance for sound and true doctrine which is code for rejecting the good news of the Gospel and any implication that hell and eternal damnation is a reality for anyone who refuses to believe in Jesus.

What will these people do instead?

They will turn “away from the truth” and seek out anyone who will tell them what they want to hear, listening with “itching ears” to any number of teachers who will speak words that “suit their” desires. And of course, any teaching outside of the truth found in the entirety of the scriptures breathed out by God Himself was nothing more than a myth with no real validity or legitimacy.

Friends, I am afraid that we are seeing this prophecy of Paul beginning to take root in our world today as false teachers emerge who are unwilling to preach the entirety of the God-breathed Word, instead choosing to tell people only what they want to hear. These enemies of the faith are simply in the “ear itching” business when they should be most concerned about soul saving.

The bottom line is that a person’s only hope in this life is to believe in Jesus. Period.

Not to hope for prosperity or success.

Not to hope for popularity and renown.

Not to hope for anything that this world has to offer because this world isn’t going to last forever...but Jesus will. 

So it’s time to stop selective listening based on one’s own desires and it’s high time to surrender one’s will to the transformative, saving power of the Lord God Almighty, fully embracing and conforming to His amazing, living Word. For there is nothing about being a Christian that dictates we serve ourselves. Rather, we are to live as Jesus lived, a life completely reflecting self sacrifice while placing others first.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.