Diagnosing and Curing Itchy Ear

2 Timothy is the final book that Paul wrote before being executed under the evil rule of Nero. It is full of practical wisdom and much exhortation for Timothy and for any believer who would read it throughout the ages. In chapter three Paul describes what the last days would look like. This description was not about what we would see in the world but about what would take place within the professing church.

As he moves to chapter four, he continues to let us know what would be the natural response of those he is describing in chapter three:

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; ⁴ and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. (2 Timothy 4:3)

When true believers come to this passage we often shake our heads in agreement and feel deep sadness at all of “those” people who are doing this very thing. We see them everywhere.

But today I’d like to take a bit of a different turn and think through this verse with a different lens.

Have you ever talked with someone about something and came away thinking, “they are so blind!” This might be a godly person who really wants to live for the Lord. But, for some reason, they can’t see their own sinfulness in a certain area or the truth about a false teacher or some other truth that is clear. Could this be because they have a slight case of itchy ear?

According to 2 Timothy 4, verse 3, there are a few ways we can diagnose itchy ear. Let’s look at them now–

1. We won’t endure sound doctrine. If we aren’t willing to endure sound doctrine in any particular area, then we probably have at least a slight case of itchy ear. What exactly is sound doctrine? In this context, it is the pure teaching of the Word. If we aren’t willing to submit and obey the Word in all areas, it will lead to a definite case of itchy ear.

But this is not always as cut and dried as we’d like to believe. Many of us will gladly obey most of the Bible. But when we get to a part that convicts us of entertainment, the lifestyle of anxiety or worry that has become our normal, or of giving up that long-held grudge and forgiving someone who deeply hurt us…well, that’s just too much to ask. And so we won’t endure that particular “sound doctrine”. This is a sure sign of itchy ear.

2. We only want to hear things that match our own desires. And so if someone brings something to our attention that we don’t care for–perhaps about a false teacher we love or a sin that is firmly entrenched in our lives– we will respond in one of two ways. We will get very defensive and maybe even a bit angry. Or we will just ignore it and go on with life. However we respond, we certainly won’t honestly examine our lives in regard to what is being said. Because we will choose not to hear what goes against our desires.

3. We will only like positive, uplifting teachers. If someone dares to call out sin, worldliness, or a false teacher (by name) we get all up in arms, declaring them to be negative, judgmental, and all sorts of other awful accusations. How dare they?!? And we conclude they must be the most unloving and unkind person we know.

4. We will turn away from truth and turn towards fables. The Shack is a rather old book by now but it is the perfect example of this very thing. This book (and its subsequent movie) presented a fable about God. It was not truth, according to scripture. And, yet, because so many loved the god that William Paul Young presented in his book, they turned away from the true God (as described in scripture) and embraced this false god. They turned away from truth and turned towards a fable. This is just one example. There are countless others and countless more to come. Satan loves to fool Christians. And he does it in such a way that it looks so good and so…right.

Do you have itchy ear? Even a slight case? Perhaps we all do to some extent. We don’t like to hear what is uncomfortable and demands change, do we? Change is hard and ingrained habits are hard to break. Teachers are much loved and the loyalty runs deep. Following hard after truth is not for the fainthearted and weak. And, yet, God can turn a fainthearted and weak person into someone willing to stand courageously in His strength, through the power of the Holy Spirit. But how?

How do we cure our case of itchy ear? How do we become someone who is willing to endure sound doctrine, willing to turn from our own desires in humble submission to God’s desires, willing to hear both the positive and the negative as we listen to teachers, and willing to turn toward truth and away from fables? How can we be sure to be the kind of listener that benefits our spiritual walk and blesses a biblical teacher?

There are a few things we can do. It’s rather simple really. But we can’t miss a step.

First, we must pray and read the Word. Let’s bring a humble spirit before the Lord, asking Him to show us the truth and to help us be willing to change. And then let’s read and study the Word with perseverance and diligence, so that we can know our God and what He desires.

Second, we must be willing to examine ourselves in light of the Word. Many of us live in a superficial way because we are unwilling to do this. And, I must admit, it is much easier to just live day to day as we endeavor to complete our to-do lists and take care of the many things calling our names. But, without taking the time to examine ourselves, we are opening ourselves up to a severe case of itchy ear, for it will sneak up on us when we least expect it.

Third, we must be willing to turn from our feelings. For many of us (myself included) the temptation is strong to let our feelings drive our lives. And so we don’t read our Bibles because we don’t feel like it. Or we turn on the TV and waste hours of time because we don’t feel like doing anything else. We don’t feel like reading hard books that help us grow but we feel like reading easy novels that fill our mind with fluff (at best) or trash (at worst). We make choices about going to church (oh, it was such a late night, let’s skip), we make choices about music (oh, this has such a catchy tune), we make choices about our children’s entertainment (but I don’t want to upset my child and take this way from her because then she might be mad at me) all based solely on how they make us feel. This will almost always lead to itchy ear.

With God’s help, we must move from making decisions based on feelings to making decisions based on what will please God. For a genuine believer that wants to live out their faith, no decision escapes this examination. Am I choosing this because of how it will make me feel or am I choosing it because I want to please the Lord? (I am convicting myself here!)

Fourth, we must be willing to listen to biblical teachers that will preach the whole word of God instead of those who just give us the positive, uplifting messages that make us feel good.

---

If we do these things, then we will cure our case of itchy ear, whether it be a severe case or just the slightest case. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be walking around with itchy ear, spiritually sick and weakened, when God has made a way for us to live out a radiant, vibrant faith as we journey through this darkened world!