Tickled Ears

II Timothy 4 states what we read yesterday in another set of words:

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.

I don’t like to have my ears tickled, at all.  It annoys me.  But we all enjoy having our ears tickled with pleasing things we want to hear, like when fame/fortune call our names and we run after both, thinking they will satisfy every craving of life. 

God isn’t in the business of making us famous or amassing great wealth in dollars into our hands to hoard for our own pleasure.  When we listen to teachers who focus on the benefits of the good news, rather than the good news itself – we need to beware.

Myths are not true.  They’re made up stories of winged horses and gods of thunder.  They are fantasies we read and enjoy, but they’re not any good to us on a cold, stormy day in life when everything is going wrong.

Sound doctrine is that which comes from God’s word about his love, his mercy, his forgiveness, his holiness, and his power and his ways.

When we listen to that…our ears won’t be tickled…but our hearts will be forever held…in His hands.