Ouch. That first line hurts. Actually, all of this hurts until I reach the last line, when I feel a challenge and a charge.
If you think about it, however, we really do—maybe unintentionally, but we do it nonetheless—surround ourselves in this day and age with “teachers who will say what our itching ears want to hear.”
For instance, I watched a video of one of Muhammed Ali’s fights on a social media platform the other day. The next day, that platform was offering me multiple clips from Ali’s fights, Thomas Hearns’ fights, Mike Tyson’s fights, and more. The algorithm determined that if I liked one, I would like more.
Sadly, the internet age in which we live fuels this tendency, feeding us what we seem to like, so that our itching ears receive only what we like, and our hearts, and minds, and, yes, our souls become smaller, and harder, and less open to the grace of God.
Now don’t get me wrong—I am NOT going to counteract this by watching kitten videos. But I have, and I will, take action to broaden my thinking.
A number of years ago our denomination was wrestling with a particular issue. As I thought about it, I realized that I had only read materials—books, articles, blogs—that I agreed with. One day I wondered, “What if I’m wrong on this?” I spent the next year reading only materials from the “other side” of the issue. At the end of a year, I reassessed, and decided that I was firm in my previous conviction.
The difference was that I was more informed, and could listen and talk with others with whom I disagreed without inflammatory emotions and rhetoric.
My mind was not changed, but my heart and soul were softened. I “kept my head,” and remain ready to serve God in every opportunity!