In the second letter Paul writes to Timothy, we see him warning of a time when people will go looking for lies.
For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
2 Timothy 4:3-4
Often, this section is discussed in terms of the wicked people who take advantage of the “itching ears”. We point to organizations or ideologies that are clearly seeking to suit the passions of the average person in a way to become more popular. They roll out the myths to fill the seats and make some money.
What is spoken less about is how these leaders are only conspiring with the people in the seats. It takes two to tango and they wouldn’t even be teaching these lies if people weren’t looking to hear them.
Looking for Lies
About a thousand years before, in the book of Proverbs, God had inspired Solomon with an observation about those who go seeking after falsehood.
An evildoer listens to wicked lips, and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.
Proverbs 17:4
While it does say a lot about a leader that they would willingly lie to those who look to them. It also says a great deal about those who go looking for them. A person saying wicked things will appeal only to someone who is looking to be tempted toward evil. A person who speaks trickery will appeal only to someone who loves the lie.
While a person who leads others astray has certainly done wrong, we shouldn’t be so blind as to think that our vulnerability to them says nothing about ourselves. When a person lies to us, we believe it because we are not fully committed to the truth of the thing. When a person encourages us to do wrong, it is because we are not wholly committed to do right. It’s not as if any of us is unaware that there are those who would seek to trick us!
Be On Guard
None of us is perfect. We all are born into the sin of Adam and, while God has given us new desires, we won’t be free from those old temptations until we are fully renewed on Christ’s return. Because of this, we all have weaknesses that can be exploited. If we don’t want to be manipulated, we need to be honest enough with ourselves to admit what those weaknesses (which are different for everyone) are so we can identify when someone is aiming for that chink in our armor.
The more we entertain our sins the more easily dishonest people can play us. If we struggle with lust, we should always avoid those who would try to downplay the seriousness of sexual immorality. If greed or envy are a weakness, we should be extremely distrustful of someone who comes with messages about easy gain. Even people who aren’t necessarily intending to deceive us could nurture wickedness within us if we allow them to slip into our blind spots.
It is our own responsibility to avoid false doctrines; especially those which appeal to our base desires. Instead, we should seek teachings that are calling us to more godliness! If we are busy pursuing our spiritual desires, we won’t make the mistake of trusting the words that appeal to our flesh.
Shared Judgement
Beyond how this applies to who we should personally listen to, we should also understand what this means about the larger matters of social manipulation. While we often focus on the leaders, the reality is that we shouldn’t discount what the leaders say about the culture at large. If a person preaching a gospel of envy came to a people who were not discontented, they would be rejected! If a person were to proclaim the supposed virtues of “open marriage” to a people committed to their spouses, they would be run out of town.
We shouldn’t make the mistake of thinking that the problem with the culture is only in the leaders. If we elect, promote, or otherwise raise up better men to leadership, we haven’t really solved the underlying issue. Not only are the people likely to go seeking a leader less righteous, but they also will find ways to undermine even the best guidance so far as they are bent to do wrong.
Instead of a quick fix, bad leadership means a culture needs radical repentance. We need to become more serious about standing against and rejecting the type of message that gave wicked people the power they have.
