ITCHING EARS!
2 Timothy 4:4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
The Amplified Bible says, “And will turn their ears away from the truth and will wander off into myths and man-made fictions...” What are we supposed to be hearing? 2 Timothy 4:3 tells us. We are supposed to be hearing sound doctrine. What is doctrine? These are beliefs held and taught by the church that are found in the Word of God. As Christians, we are to go to the Word of God to form our belief system. Many people have a belief, a way of thinking, and will then try to pull some scriptures together that will substantiate their belief. That is backwards. When you hear people say things like, “Well, I just believe,” that is a sign you are about to get something other than sound Bible doctrine. Sound Bible doctrine will sound like this, “The Scripture says…” followed by a few verses given in context. One thing about sound Bible doctrine is that it will always adjust and correct you, as well as exhort you (2 Timothy 4:2). If the Word of God that you are hearing does not regularly adjust and correct you, you should be wondering if it really is true Bible doctrine.
I have noticed in the Body of Christ that our scripture and its warning is for right now. Many people don’t want to hear something that challenges and grows them. They want someone to tell them, “You are ok just the way you are, just do you. You don’t have to do anything, and whatever will be will be.” Those things may sound good, but they are not true. They are fables, a fairy tale, and what our verse is warning us about. Those things will cause the Body of Christ to be asleep at the wheel. When people do this, 2 Timothy 4:3 calls this “itching ears.” I call it the “itching ears syndrome.” These people stop listening to sound Bible doctrine and will find a teacher who will tell them what they want to hear. They, the people with itching ear syndrome, will gather around teachers and preachers who are willing to scratch that itch. What itch? Telling them fables like God loves you just the way you are, and you don’t have to do a thing. God does love us, but friends, there are a lot of things we must do if we are going to walk in the promises of God. I am so grateful that I get to minister to a great group of people who don’t need their ears scratched!