…I hate him, for he never prophesies good for me, but evil. – 1 Kings 22:8, Amplified Bible

Years ago we had a missionary visit our church who told us about one of the many interesting plane rides he had experienced in his career. During the flight he was seated next to a man from China. As was the missionary’s custom, he struck up a conversation with the man in hopes of having an opportunity to converse about The Lord. It wasn’t long before the conversation did turn to spiritual matters, and when the missionary declared what he did for a living, the game was afoot! The Chinese man, it just so happened, was an avowed atheist, and for quite awhile he and the missionary verbally (but graciously) sparred over the things of God. Finally, the missionary paused, looked his fellow passenger in the eye, and said firmly, “Despite all of your arguments to the contrary, in your heart you know that I am telling the truth.” The Chinese man said nothing, bowed his head in agreement, and then gave his life to Christ.

After hearing 400 prophets declare that victory was theirs should they go to battle against Syria, one lone voice – the voice of Micaiah the prophet – told King Ahab of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah that Syria, not Israel and Judah, would win the day and that Ahab would pay for his disobedience with his life. It is clear from the passage in 1 Kings 22 that both Ahab and Jehoshaphat recognized Micaiah as the bearer of truth and the 400 other prophets as having a questionable testimony. Yet, in the end, both the unrighteous Ahab and the righteous Jehoshaphat chose to believe the false teachings that justified the path they wanted to take, thus ignoring the truth that would have saved both Ahab’s life and the lives of countless soldiers who died that day in battle.

We have the amazing ability to deceive ourselves, and we are prone to give credence to teachings that we know are false but that make us feel good about the bad choices we’ve already made. As the Apostle Paul writes in 2 Timothy 4:3 (Amplified Bible):

For the time is coming when [people] will not tolerate (endure) sound and wholesome instruction, but, having ears itching [for something pleasing and gratifying], they will gather to themselves one teacher after another to a considerable number, chosen to satisfy their own liking and to foster the errors they hold.

Many Christians today are doing just what Paul warned about, surrounding themselves with false doctrine so that they may justify their sinful choices. But, deep down, they have an unsettled knawing in their soul that they can’t escape. They, like all of us, are hard-wired by God to recognize the truth. No matter how hard they try to convince themselves of their favorite false teachings, they know deep down which word is from God and which word is from man. Until they submit to the arguments of truth, they’ll never have peace.

If you have been suffering from itching ears syndrome, it’s time to recognize your problem, repent of it, and ask God to enable you to follow the truth rather than a lie. When you do so, you’ll find a peace that passes all understanding, one that has been eluding you for a long, long time.