Discerning Ear

“Cease, my son, to hear the instruction [that causeth] to err from the words of knowledge.” (Pr 19:27 AV)

It is wise to weigh everything you hear against that which you know for certain.  Things one hears can be deceptive.  Solomon, that wise king, shares the importance of hearing with a discerning ear.  Instruction is not merely words.  It involves reasoning, argument, and support.  These words are not words in passing.  These words are intended to mislead away from that which has been proven reliable.  Solomon is not insinuating that the discerning soul does not think critically.  That is welcomed.  However, when an irrefutable conclusion is reached, then following arguments should fall on deaf ears.  This warning goes way back to the garden of Eden.  Satan used this device to entice Eve.  He questioned what they knew to be true.  They were not to eat of the fruit.  Yet, he added and removed from the word of God, gave erroneous cause for why they were prohibited, and then invited them to partake, promising benefits that outweighed the risk.  The rest is history.  Hearing with a discerning ear is a discipline of the mind and heart.

Many years ago, folks in the county we lived testified they had seen a black panther.  This animal had a legendary existence akin to the Loch Ness Monster.  Every now and again, there would be a story in the local newspaper of someone who had spotted this elusive cat.  The problem was, we lived way too far north for it to be a panther.  On and on the stories went.  It took on a life of its own to the degree of absurd.  The stories continued way beyond the normal lifespan of a panther.  Sure, on very rare occasions, a panther may wander from the southern Florida region and wander north.  Not as far north as we were.  But they do on occasion, wander beyond their normal habitat.  The Department of Natural Resources was called.  They set traps and cameras.  No one could get a picture of this cat, let alone catch it.  The DNR concluded it must be something else.  Then it happened.  I saw it!  Coming from my deer stand, I glanced across a harvested field and saw a large black animal moving like a cat across this field.  Too large to be a domesticated cat by far, I concluded I had just spotted the black panther.  Then, a funny thing happened.  My wife went to an animal rescue and picked out a black lab/blue healer mixed dog.  If you have ever seen a blue healer work cattle, you know they move distinctly different from other dogs.  This dog moved just like a cat.  It was uncanny!  What I had seen several months ago and thought it was a black panther turned out to be the dog we adopted.  My mind told me it could not have been a panther, but the words from other eyewitnesses brought my knowledge into question.

Solomon knows a thing or two about those who would attempt to counsel him out of what he knew was right.  Many had his ear.  Equally so, many were the motivations or agendas brought with those opinions.  No doubt he has a variety of facts, ideas, opinions, etc all meant to persuade.  As a king, he had to be a discerning listener.  Once settled on the truth, no additional facts could dissuade.  The devil wants to trip us up anyway he can.  He wants to confuse the situation so that truth becomes relative, or worse, unknowable.  Faith is his enemy.  If he can torment us by clouding the facts, then he will.  If he can blind the mind to what is real and true, he will attempt it.  Solomon is edifying his son to listen with a discerning ear.  If he knows something to be true, then settle it in his heart that nothing will change it.  We are apt to be tossed to and fro.  We are like children who are carried about be every wind of doctrine.  Rather, we must yield to the instruction of the Holy Spirit and rest it there!  Let the scoffers, doubters, or mockers do what they do.  It doesn’t change what is true and what is not.  Listen.  But not to the defeat of truth.