Ears That Do Not Hear, Eyes That Do Not See

I encountered it in every church I served. It took different forms, in the different places, but underlying the different reactions was the same issue. People were resistance to a different way of thinking, to a new understanding.

Let me hasten to say that in most congregations I served I also encountered people who were open and teachable – people who were willing to think – people who recognized the ring of truth in what they were hearing, even when it was different from what they had always been taught. Invariably, these people were those who were hungry for spiritual truth, who wanted to go deeper in their spiritual lives, who wanted to grow in their relationship with God, who wanted more than their present experience of the spiritual life.

According to the apostle Paul, the only way we grow spiritually is by learning to think differently. (I have said this truth so often, I feel like a broken record. And, yes, that metaphor shows how old I am. It means I am stuck in the same groove, constantly repeating myself.) In Romans 12:2, Paul said, “Stop letting the world squeeze you into its mold. Instead, be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (personal translation). Paul’s teaching suggests the transformation of our lives involves a two-step process. It involves the renewing of our minds, that is, learning a different way of thinking, one shaped by the character of God and the ways of God under the guidance of the Spirit. I commonly speak of this way of thinking as thinking theologically. Paul spoke of it as thinking with the mind of Christ, 1 Corinthians 2:16. Learning this new way of thinking moves us beyond the way the world trained us to think. Moving beyond our old ways of thinking is the second step of the transformation process. We cannot grow and change as long as we cling to our old way of thinking, that is, to the way the world trained us to think. Thinking with the mind of Christ displaces the way the world trained us to think. The result is a transformed life.

Yet, even though it is the way to growing spiritually, many in my experience of church life resisted the very thing that would have led them to a deeper, richer spiritual life. They resisted a different way of thinking, a different understanding. They wanted to be told what they already believed and, thus, resisted anything that did not agree with that.

Sadly, my experience is nothing new. The writings of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel make reference to people having ears, but not hearing, to having eyes, but not seeing (Isaiah 6:9-10; Jeremiah 5:21; Ezekiel 12:2). Jesus used this idiom in reference to the people of his day, as well, Matthew 13:14-15.

The Isaiah 6 text helps me understand this resistance that seems so common.

So that they may not look with their eyes,

And listen with their ears,

And comprehend with their minds,

And turn and be healed, Isaiah 6:10.

Seeing, hearing, and understanding lead to turning and to healing. Turning carries the Hebrew concept of repentance: turning away from an old way of thinking and living to a new way of thinking and living. In other words, seeing, hearing, and understanding leads to change.

Isaiah’s language explains the resistance to a new, different way of thinking. Resistance to a new, different way of thinking is resistance to change.

Changing what we think and believe is like dropping a pebble in a pond. It sends out ripples that touch every aspect of our lives. We have to rethink everything in light of this new understanding.

That’s what happened to Paul when he encountered the risen Christ on the road to Damascus. The encounter changed his understanding of, his belief about who Jesus was. That change in how he viewed Jesus led to other major changes: his understanding of God, of how God relates to us (grace, not merit), of what is pleasing to God (faith, not obedience to the law), of the followers of Jesus (faithful, not heretics), of the Gentiles (included, not excluded). One of the most significant changes was in his sense of self – his understanding of who he was, that is, his own identity. A new understanding led to a complete reorientation of his life. Paul’s experience demonstrates that seeing, hearing, and understanding spiritual truth leads to change. Maybe that’s why Paul spoke of being transformed by the renewing of the mind.

What happened to Paul is potentially true for us.

We build our sense of identity on what we believe, particularly on what we believe is true, what we believe about God, what we believe about our faith. The sense of being “right” plays a major role in our sense of self. It is how we distinguish ourselves from others. It is foundational to our egocentric, constructed self.

Thus, when we are exposed to a new way of thinking or a new understanding, we resist it. We react to it as though it were a threat – which it is! It is a threat to the persona we constructed based upon what we believe is true. To change what we think and believe requires us to rethink everything in our lives, including our sense of identity. It is a threat to our egocentric, constructed self which is built on being right. No wonder we resist!

Sadly, when we resist a new way of understanding of spiritual truth, we resist our own growth into the likeness of Christ. We resist the discovery of our true self, the person God created us to be. We resist the work of the Spirit who, in teaching us the ways of God Jesus taught, transforms our lives into the likeness of Christ.

Paul knew what he was talking about. The transformation of our lives – change – only happens as we move beyond old ways of thinking and living by learning a new, different way of thinking and living – thinking shaped by the character of God and the ways of God under the guidance of the Spirit.

Stop thinking the way the world trained you to think. Be transformed by learning a new, different way of thinking – one taught by the Spirit, shaped by the character of God and the ways of God. Stop resisting the work of the Spirit.