I ran across an interesting translation of an old scripture this week that stuck in my mind. The version you may be more familiar with is this one: “But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears that they should not hear” (Zech. 7:11).

Here is the modern translation: “Your ancestors refused to listen to this message. They stubbornly turned away and put their fingers in their ears to keep from hearing. They made their hearts as hard as stone, so they could not hear the instructions or the messages that the LORD of Heaven’s Armies…”

I can imagine a spoiled child (or adult), sticking their fingers in their ears and saying, “Nah.. Nah… Nah… I can’t hear you.” I understand that we may not actually do those things, but how often do we hear something from God’s Word and decide we don’t like it, so we won’t do it? Maybe it is “silent rebellion.”

I read about an old Japanese legend that tells of a man who died and went to heaven. Heaven was beautiful, full of lush gardens and glittering mansions. But then the man came to a room lined with shelves. On the shelves were stacked piles of human ears! A heavenly guide explained that these ears belonged to all the people on earth who listened each week to the word of God but never acted on God’s teachings. Their worship never resulted in action. When these people died, only their ears ended up in heaven.

All throughout my years of ministry I have continually encouraged people to not only hear the Words of God, but to respond to those words with a changed life. To do the things in this life God expects of a Christian. Too many enjoy coming “to church,” but then forget why they came. They hear the words, but refuse to register them as something actually being required of them in this life. They have put their fingers in their ears and have “selective hearing” as far as responding to what is required by God.

I have shared many times the story of meeting a man and having a bible discussion regarding a point on which we disagreed. I opened the Bible and pointed out a scripture that (in my mind) clearly stated the truth regarding the subject. I asked the man what he thought and his response was, “I don’t know what it means, but it doesn’t mean what it says.” (Did I mention that this man was also a minister?) To me it seemed as if he had stuck his fingers in his ears and refused to listen to God speaking to him.

You see, sticking your fingers in your ears in not the answer; digging deeper into the Word of God is! Here is how we should and must respond; in Act 17:11 we read:  “Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”

Might I suggest using your fingers to turn the pages in your Bible, rather than stop up your ears!

Russ Lawson