Verse: 2 Timothy 4:3-5
For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
Devotion
Wow, this seems beyond timely.
The time WILL come. Not maybe, WILL.
We are living through a time like that. It’s extremely unpopular to live under any kind of authority. No one wants to be told that they are wrong. Let’s face it, it’s no one’s favorite thing. We all like to hear justification for the way we want to conduct ourselves. Usually (for me, anyway) it’s that very desire to hear justification that might tip us off to the fact that we’re going our own way, and not the Lord’s.
But we are instructed to keep our heads. It’s hard to disagree with popular opinion. That in itself could be one way that we might be forced to endure hardship. But we must continually go back to the scripture and weigh out the truth. It’s certainly easy to find someone to tell you what you want to hear. But that’s not the way we are called to live. We know it’s not the easy way. But there is life and freedom and abundance in living by the way of Jesus.
I keep re-reading the part about hearing what our itching ears want to hear. It’s such a powerful analogy. I think about the need to scratch an itch. It can be quite consuming. And the relief and pleasure when you can scratch that itch, it’s really a wonderful feeling. It makes me feel so cautious about what I fill my mind with. Cautious in order to examine what resonates with me, and why. I don’t mean that everything that resonates is bad. I think we are built to respond to truth as well. But it’s important to think about. And I want to be honest with myself.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, lead me in your truth. Lead me in your love, and help me not to serve my own desires, but yours. Amen.
Author: Emily Costa
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