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Our Ears Still Itch

That church down the street isn't the only one pandering to the congregation.

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. (2 Tim. 4:3-4)

When we come across these words from the apostle Paul to Timothy, we tend to see this verse as a description of our day and age. How else do we explain the elegant churches whose liberalism has overtaken their once-glorious heritage? Or the masses that fill stadiums to hear prosperity teachers tell us how good we are and how much God wants to bless us financially?

Preaching that tickles the ears. We nod our heads in agreement and pray …

Lord, deliver us from the liberals who don't believe anything and don't preach the truth.

Lord, deliver us from those who give good advice and moral platitudes without the Good News of individual salvation.

Lord, deliver us from the stand-up comics who fill stadiums with ear-tickling, side-splitting sermons that are all about us and not about God.

Then, we sit back on Sunday mornings with a smile, satisfied in our assurance that our ears don't itch.

But are we deceiving ourselves? Do we truly believe we have escaped the temptation to listen to pastors who tickle our ears? Is it possible to preach harshly against certain sins and yet still be an ear-tickling preacher?

The prophet Jeremiah tells us the human heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. We think that if we attend a church where the pastor consistently preaches hard messages with hard truths, we will never succumb to the "itching ears" syndrome. But such is not the case. Paul tells Timothy that itching ears accumulate for themselves teachers who will tell them what they want to hear. Itching ears desire teaching that suits their own passions.

Many laypeople hope to listen to a preacher who every week will tell them what's wrong — with everybody else.

The congregation of teetotalers wants a pastor who, week after week, condemns alcohol from the pulpit.

The anti-war congregation hopes to hear a rousing sermon against those warmongering conservatives.

The congregation of staunch Republicans smiles as their pastor rails against "the gays" and "the liberals."

The Calvinist congregation wants to hear a theologian/pastor who will preach against the errors of those Arminians.

The congregation of door-to-door soul-winners hires a pastor who will mock the namby-pamby "lifestyle" conversations that pass for evangelism in this day.

The charismatic congregation loves when its pastor tears into the dry, ritualistic worship of their liturgical neighbors.

And the liturgical congregation nods approvingly at critiques of their neighbors who manufacture emotionalism.

Can you hear the hearty "Amens" coming from the pews? Yes, Lord! Thank you for showing us what real Christianity is! Lord, help us not be like those Christians who are too blinded by their biases, who have been co-opted by the culture!

Of course, there are times when a pastor should address the issues above. Church members should expect pastors to preach boldly, to condemn sin, to faithfully exposit the biblical text, and to speak to the current issues of the day.

But let us not underestimate the evil intentions of the human heart. We crave a message that puffs us up. We read Jesus' parable about the Pharisee and the tax collector and rightly condemn the Pharisee for his pompous prayer, "God, I thank you that I am not like other people — robbers, evildoers, adulterers — or even like this tax collector." Then we thank God that we're not like the Pharisee.


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Displaying 1–5 of 15 comments

Anonymous

March 17, 2008  1:27pm

Very good article.

Hal

March 17, 2008  8:24am

In response to the poll: my husband and I are currently suffering burn-out from a 2+-year-long search for a new church home. Visiting more than a dozen churches is very encouraging in that we realize all the great service and love ministries that are happening all over in the church. However, one of the things that exhausts us in this process is the way that each pastor seems to "warn" us about other "other churches" and "other pastors" who would lead us astray. The comments are always subtle: it's the way OTHER churches ask for money, or that liturgical churches are "on their way" to knowing God, or "now I don't know why OTHER churches aren't talking about this..." After a while, it's hard to listen to: how do I know he/she is not the pastor that the OTHER pastor was warning me about?? Perhaps the 54% of people who feel that their pastor "never" speaks ill of other Christian denominations or churches - even generally - should put themselves in the shoes of a visitor.

Derek

March 16, 2008  7:51pm

I love it. I'm guilty of this -- it's safe and it puts me on the "right" side of the tracks. Richard Miller, how do you reconcile Romans 14:4? How do you think Paul reconciles it? (Hint on answer: Are you suggesting that the examples the author uses are equivalent to the teachings of false teachers?) Here's a thought... It's easy to critique the article, it's harder to do critical thinking.

Richard Miller

March 16, 2008  11:11am

And how does the author reconcile his message with the fact that Paul called out false teachers and named names?

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Soois

March 16, 2008  11:04am

Dear "the G" you clearly should read the article again. Even those things are not the things our Lord wants, but a loving heart and a serving soul. I pray that He will open your eyes to the truth. Amen

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