Will you listen to truth? Or will you seek to hear what pleases you? Are you willing to open yourself to truth? Or are you chasing after myths and legends? Have you spent time pondering questions such as these?
We continually hear accusations of false truths being spoken by opponents. It doesn’t seem to matter which side of the argument we listen to, both sides accuse the other. If we were to be completely honest with ourselves, we would recognize both sides speaking falsities or half-truths.
Our world has been overtaken by the desire to bend it to our will. We see it all around us. We pick and choose who and what we listen to. On one hand, there is nothing inherently wrong with our ability to choose. On the other hand, when we choose to listen to misinformation, we slowly go down a path that can lead to our destruction.
Here are some hard questions to wrestle with. Do you only watch a news channel because they report what you want to hear? Do you only listen to one side of the argument because you agree with it, at least on the surface? Do you immediately get upset, frustrated, or angry when you hear opposing viewpoints?
There are many who twist God’s Word to match their desires. They will take one small verse out of context to use in an argument or make a point. How do we avoid doing that and being part of the problem? We must read both several verses before and after the specific verse. We need to look at the bigger picture that is being painted. We need to be in a continual learning mode, seeking to hear God’s truth rather than twisting His Word to match our beliefs.
It is only when we truly seek and find the truth that we are set free as Jesus stated in John 8:32. The truth that sets us free is Jesus’ teaching. Some of it is hard for us to hear. We don’t like it. But when we know and follow it, we are set free. Those who continue to seek to hear what makes them feel good remain prisoners of the world.
I pray we all seek God’s truth. I pray we desire to be set free of this worldly prison. I pray each one of us will spend time reading God’s Word in its entirety. Seek the truth. Leave falsehoods behind. Be set free. Read God’s Word. See the entire picture.
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.
Marty Pressey 