When you go to a doctor for an injury that requires stitches or begins to scab the last thing that they tell you as you walk out the door is to make sure you don’t scratch the itch. If you do, you will create a lasting scar and may prevent the wound from healing. There are some itches a Christian shouldn’t scratch either. Paul deals with one of those in today’s Scripture.
2 Timothy 4:3-4
“For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear. They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths.”
Tolerate the Truth
We are living in the days that Paul talks about here. People don’t tolerate the truth of Scripture and scoff at sound doctrine. If a pastor teaches from the Bible, people get offended. They search for those pastors who make them laugh and feel warm and fuzzy when they walk out. If the Holy Spirit convicts someone during a message, they don’t return. People get up and walk out in the middle of a message offended because the preacher got too close to home.
Open Your Heart
As a believer, you need to crave the Word of God. You should be comfortable with being uncomfortable in the pew. If your pastor talks about sin, you struggle with your reaction shouldn’t be anger but one of humble repentance. That means our heart is open to the Holy Spirit working on it. Too many people want to hear what they want to hear, and few places in Scripture are going to make you feel that way. Most of the Bible deals with peoples shortcomings and how God can fix them
Don’t Scratch the Itch
If you go to a church that doesn’t teach the Bible find one that does. I know that sounds abrupt, but I’m saying it for your good. Hebrews tells us that we should be maturing from drinking the milk of the Word to chewing on the meat. Where are you at on the Spiritual food pyramid? If you don’t have a pastor that wants to teach you the Scripture, he is doing yo more harm than good. The Word of God is living and powerful, and it changes our lives. Don’t scratch the itch to find something you want to hear.
