As important as the truth is many never become acquainted with it because they refuse to listen. By “listen” I mean hear or read–seek the truth. The attention span of some is so short that they can’t / won’t sit still long enough to get the facts. They “don’t get it” because they don’t want it. And they don’t want it because they don’t see the need or advantage of it. It’s not on their list of things they think will make them happy.
Children today are raised in front of a TV or computer. Nearly everyone goes through life with a cell phone in their hand and their head in the clouds. You might as well expect a hare to chase a hound as to expect them to pursue the truth. If they “listen” at all, they want “sound-bites”, reviews, and sermonetts, etc. They are not going to dig deep and stay down long in pursuit of spiritual knowledge. They might sing “Take Time to be Holy”, but they don’t do it.
This isn’t a new problem. Getting people interested in acquiring knowledge has always been a problem. In fact, it was for “lack of knowledge” that Israel was destroyed (Hos.4:6). And people are doing the same today. The average church member doesn’t know beans about the Bible, church history, the development of the Bible, or the stories of great Christians. They have no idea why Baptist are not Protestants, as many claim, and they are mystified as to why we use only the K.J.V. of the Bible and refuse to use “mission boards”, and still sing hymns, etc. They are willingly and woefully ignorant of these important issues.
But there’s more. In addition to their ignorance of this important information they never experience the inspiration that comes from studying these things. They’ve never read about the great men and women whom God used mightily —amazing stories that should be read, remembered, and repeated. Stories that challenge, comfort, and create confidence in Christ—so this is no minor matter. For some people, at certain times, inspiration can be more important than information. But some of the best inspiration you will ever receive comes through information– information that comes from instruction. So, to learn you must learn to listen.
