Happy Wednesday, December 10th, 2025. It’s amazing how God designed us with the ability to hear. I just took a hearing test and, according to the results, I have perfect hearing—no loss of dBs or frequencies! My wife, however, would vehemently argue that the test is flawed and that I definitely suffer from some kind of hearing loss… And she’s right… Because as perfect as our ears may be, we all suffer from selective hearing. We hear what we want to hear—especially when it confirms what we already feel. And in a digital world of filters and algorithms, we’ve become experts at curating our music and our news… and even our convictions. If something challenges us, we scroll past it. If it comforts us, we embrace it.
Long before the age of headphones and headlines, Paul warned Timothy that a day like this would come.
Today's Reading:
2 Timothy 1,2,3,4
Scripture
“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.” (2 Timothy 4:3)
Observation
This is Paul’s final charge to Timothy who is pastoring in Ephesus, a city known for being an intellectual hub. In fact it was here that Paul spent two years teaching at the School of Tyrannus. A place where philosophers, mystics, and spiritual “experts” all presented their latest ideas.
“Itching ears” was a common idiomatic phrase. It means ears that crave something new, something trendy, but something pleasantly agreeable. Paul uses this to warn Timothy to stay anchored in the unchanging yet convicting gospel. Even when the culture shifts, you stay biblical.
Application
Who knew Paul would describe 2025 so precisely? A year when we curate our podcasts, tailor our newsfeeds, and filter our world until only the agreeable remains. But technology only amplifies the human condition. We naturally gravitate toward voices that validate us, affirm us, excuse us—voices that scratch our itching ears.
But spiritual maturity doesn’t come from scratched ears; it comes from a heart that chooses truth over comfort and obedience over agreement. I have to choose truth even when it stings, and obedience even when it stretches me.
Prayer
Lord, thank You for Your Word, which reminds me that, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” Help me to keep my ears attuned to Your voice. I don’t want to selectively listen to You, but hear and obey every word You speak, “so that I may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” In Jesus’ name, Amen.
–Chris Kiriakos
Sign up to receive Pastor Wayne's devotions daily