Tickling or testing?

I tend to be a picky eater. Oh, I try to convince myself I’m not, but the truth is I kind of am, particularly when it comes to things that once were alive. 

Seafood? Not a chance. Pork? Nope. Duck? Yuck. Chicken? Yes, but only off the bone. 

You get the idea. And several things I don’t like are things I should be eating—or drinking. For example, I don’t really like water (unless it’s in coffee!). But water is necessary for life, so I have to push through this dislike. 

Well, I stumbled across a verse in Job this morning that I confess I’ve never taken notice of. Job 34:3: “For the ear tries words, as the palate tastes food.” 

The word translated “tries” is bachan, which means to test, especially metals, or to investigate.

Just as our palate tastes food to determine not only if we like it but also if it is fresh or spoiled, so our ear tests the words we hear to determine if they are truth or error.

Now, I say this as if it’s fact, but the reality is far too many of us don’t take time to investigate what goes into our ears and instead accept what we hear based on whether we like or dislike it. 

Scripture talks of this in 2 Timothy 4:3-4: “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, And will turn aside from hearing the truth and wander off into myths and man-made fictions.”

Indeed, this time is already here. 

Instead of instructing our ears to test what we hear, we welcome anything that tickles our ears—or our consciences—telling us that we are “good,” that sin is a myth, and that we have no need of a savior. 

But if our ears are meant to test what we hear, as metal is tested, it’s worthwhile to know what withstands the “testing” metals go through.

Psalm 12:6 gives the answer: “The words and promises of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in an earthen furnace, purified seven times over.”

We are constantly bombarded by messages that tickle our ears but are far from truth—from music, conversations, advertising, news, iPhones, twitter, Instagram, preachers (yep, preachers), politicians, and more. 

Instead of desiring that our ears be tickled with whatever makes us feel good, we should purpose that our ears test what we hear to determine what lines up with the unchanging truth of God’s word. And to this, we hold fast. 

As 1 Thessalonians 5:21 tells us, “…test everything; hold fast what is good.”