Preach the
word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and
encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 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. 2 Timothy 4:2-4
The truth is Jesus Christ. All truth comes from him. Those who reject truth don’t want to hear
truth. By rejecting truth they are
rejecting Jesus Christ.
Paul understood that in his ministry. He advocated preaching/proclaiming the truth
and understood that people wouldn’t like it.
Why?
People don’t like to be corrected and rebuked. They are selfish and stubborn (which requires
patience and careful instruction to handle them).
Instead, they prefer to listen to people who suit their
desires, meaning they fulfill what they want to hear, unwilling to hear the
opposition. So if they turn from truth,
where do they go instead? Towards lies,
falsehoods and myths.
An itching ear has already predetermined what it
needs—scratching. Scratching feels good
but doesn’t solve the real problem, only satisfies temporarily. What someone may need is medicine or
surgery. That hurts, but still it’s
necessary.