Why do people prefer teachers who tell them what they want to hear?
Question 0046
There is a scene that plays out in churches, conferences, and online platforms with alarming regularity. A preacher stands before a crowd and delivers a message that makes everyone feel wonderful about themselves. Sin is barely mentioned. Repentance is reframed as “self-improvement.” The hard edges of Scripture are smoothed down until the gospel becomes little more than a warm blanket of affirmation. And the people love it. They share it on social media, they buy the books, they fill the stadiums. Meanwhile, the faithful pastor in the small chapel who preaches the unvarnished truth of God’s Word watches his congregation dwindle. Why is this? Why do people gravitate toward teachers who tell them what they want to hear rather than what they need to hear?
The Apostle Paul addressed this very phenomenon in his final letter to Timothy, written from a Roman dungeon as he awaited execution. These were not abstract theological musings but urgent warnings from a man who knew his time was short and who loved the Church too much to let it drift into comfortable deception.
The Biblical Warning
Paul’s words to Timothy cut straight to the heart of this matter: “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
The phrase “itching ears” comes from the Greek κνηθόμενοι τὴν ἀκοήν (knēthomenoi tēn akoēn), which carries the sense of ears that need to be scratched or tickled. It is a vivid picture of people who have a kind of spiritual itch that can only be satisfied by hearing certain things. They do not come to Scripture asking “What does God say?” but rather “Who will tell me what I already believe?” Donald Guthrie notes that this “describes that desire for innovation and that pursuit of things which merely tickle one’s fancy” and represents “the very opposite of that serious awareness of the truth which Paul has been urging upon Timothy.”
Notice Paul says they will “accumulate” (ἐπισωρεύσουσιν, episōreusousin) teachers for themselves. This is a heaping up, a piling on. One teacher who scratches the itch is not enough. They need more and more voices confirming what they already want to believe. William Mounce observes that this word “emphasizes the quantity of teachers and perhaps suggests that the people go from teacher to teacher and never commit to any.” In our age of podcasts, YouTube channels, and social media influencers, we see this prophecy fulfilled before our eyes. People can curate their own theological echo chamber, surrounding themselves exclusively with voices that reinforce their preferences.
The result, Paul says, is that they “turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” The Greek word for “turn away” is ἀποστρέφω (apostrephō), an active turning, a deliberate rejection. And “myths” (μύθους, muthous) here does not mean fairy tales but rather religious teachings that lack substance and truth. George Knight III explains that these myths are “teachings not based on or contrary to the truth of the gospel” and can include “speculative teachings that go beyond Scripture.”
The Root Cause: Human Sinfulness
Why do people prefer comfortable lies to uncomfortable truths? The answer lies in the nature of fallen humanity. Jeremiah diagnosed the problem centuries before Paul: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). The Hebrew word for “deceitful” here is עָקֹב (aqov), which shares its root with the name Jacob (יַעֲקֹב, Ya’aqov), the supplanter, the deceiver. Our hearts are fundamentally bent toward self-deception. We do not naturally want to hear that we are sinners in need of a Saviour. We do not naturally want to be told that our ways are not God’s ways. We want to be affirmed, not confronted.
This is why Jesus warned: “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:18-19). The world loves its own. When a teacher tells people what they want to hear, he is speaking the language of the world. When a teacher speaks the truth of Scripture, he is speaking a foreign language that the natural man does not want to understand. Paul explained this dynamic to the Corinthians: “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).
The Appeal of False Teaching
False teachers have always understood something about human nature that faithful teachers must also recognise: people are drawn to messages that require nothing of them. The prosperity gospel fills stadiums because it promises blessing without sacrifice. The progressive gospel fills churches because it promises acceptance without repentance. The therapeutic gospel fills conferences because it promises healing without holiness.
In the Old Testament, we see this pattern repeatedly. The false prophets were always more popular than the true ones. Jeremiah records God’s indictment: “From prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:13-14). The phrase “healed lightly” (וַיְרַפְּאוּ, vayrap’u) suggests a superficial treatment, a bandage over a cancer. The false prophets told people everything was fine when everything was not fine. And the people loved it because the alternative was too painful to consider.
Jeremiah elsewhere records: “An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction; my people love to have it so” (Jeremiah 5:30-31). There it is: “my people love to have it so.” The demand creates the supply. False teachers arise because there is a market for their message. J. A. Motyer comments on this passage: “The prophets mouth falsehood… the priests were in collusion with the prophets and the people with both.”
Ezekiel faced the same situation. God told him: “As for you, son of man, your people who talk together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, say to one another, each to his brother, ‘Come, and hear what the word is that comes from the LORD.’ And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain. And behold, you are to them like one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument, for they hear what you say, but they will not do it” (Ezekiel 33:30-32). The people came to hear Ezekiel the way we might go to a concert. They enjoyed the performance but had no intention of responding to the message. They wanted entertainment, not transformation.
The Danger of Ear-Tickling Teaching
The preference for comfortable teaching is not merely unfortunate; it is spiritually dangerous. False teaching leads people away from the truth and ultimately away from Jesus Himself. Paul warned the Galatians: “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:6-7). Notice that Paul describes this as “deserting” God Himself. When we abandon sound doctrine, we are not merely changing our theological preferences; we are abandoning the One who called us.
This is why Paul’s language becomes so severe: “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8). The word “accursed” is ἀνάθεμα (anathema), a solemn curse invoking divine judgment. Paul repeats it in the next verse for emphasis. This is not a minor disagreement over secondary matters; this is a matter of eternal consequence.
Peter likewise warned about the danger of false teachers: “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed” (2 Peter 2:1-2). Notice that Peter says “many will follow.” False teaching is popular. It draws crowds. But popularity is no measure of truth. Jesus Himself warned: “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:13-14).
The Responsibility of Teachers
This reality places an enormous weight of responsibility upon those who teach God’s Word. James warned: “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness” (James 3:1). Teachers will give an account for what they have taught. Those who have tickled ears and led people astray will face the Judge of all the earth. But so too will those who had the truth and failed to declare it faithfully.
Paul told the Ephesian elders: “Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:26-27). The phrase “whole counsel of God” (πᾶσαν τὴν βουλὴν τοῦ θεοῦ, pasan tēn boulēn tou theou) indicates that Paul held nothing back. He did not edit the message to make it more palatable. He did not avoid the hard truths because they might cost him popularity. John Stott comments: “Paul’s comprehensive teaching ministry, covering the whole purpose of God, is here made the basis of his protestation of innocence. He had kept nothing back that would be profitable to them.”
Why True Teaching Matters
Sound doctrine is not an optional extra for advanced Christians. It is the very foundation of our faith and the means by which we grow in Jesus. Paul told Titus: “But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1). The word “sound” is ὑγιαίνω (hugiainō), from which we get “hygiene.” Sound doctrine is healthy doctrine, doctrine that produces spiritual health in those who receive it. Conversely, false doctrine produces spiritual sickness.
Paul described it elsewhere: “If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain” (1 Timothy 6:3-5). Notice the contrast between “sound words” (ὑγιαίνουσι λόγοις, hugiainousin logois) and “unhealthy craving” (νοσῶν, nosōn, literally “being sick”). False teaching makes people spiritually ill. It may feel good in the moment, like a sugar rush, but it leads to malnutrition and weakness.
The Call to Discernment
In light of all this, believers are called to exercise discernment. We are not to be passive consumers of whatever teaching comes our way. John commanded: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). The Bereans were commended for their discerning approach: “Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:11). They did not simply accept Paul’s teaching because he was an apostle. They checked it against Scripture. This is the model for all believers. We must know the Word of God well enough to recognise when it is being twisted or diluted. We must love the truth more than we love comfort.
Practical Application
So what does this mean for us today? First, we must examine our own hearts. Do we gravitate toward teachers who make us feel good about ourselves, or do we seek out teachers who faithfully expound God’s Word even when it confronts us? Are we looking for confirmation of what we already believe, or are we willing to be corrected by Scripture?
Second, we must support and encourage faithful teachers, even when their message is hard. Pastors face enormous pressure to soften the message, to avoid controversial topics, to keep everyone happy. When we hear the truth preached, we should thank God for it and encourage the one who had the courage to deliver it.
Third, we must commit ourselves to knowing Scripture. The best defence against deception is a thorough knowledge of the truth. When bank tellers are trained to spot counterfeit currency, they do not study counterfeits; they study genuine currency so thoroughly that anything false immediately stands out. So it should be with us and Scripture.
Fourth, we must remember that popularity is not a measure of truth. The narrow way is not the crowded way. The faithful remnant has always been small. If everyone loves what a teacher says, that may be a warning sign rather than an endorsement.
Conclusion
People prefer teachers who tell them what they want to hear because the human heart, left to itself, will always choose comfort over conviction, affirmation over confrontation, myths over truth. This is not a new phenomenon; it has been the pattern throughout history, and Paul warned Timothy that it would intensify as time went on. But the faithful believer must swim against this current. We must love the truth more than we love feeling good. We must seek out teachers who will speak God’s Word faithfully, even when it cuts us to the heart. We must remember that the goal is not comfort in this life but conformity to Jesus and eternal life with Him. The teacher who tells you only what you want to hear may be pleasant company on the wide road, but he cannot lead you through the narrow gate. Choose your teachers carefully. Your eternity may depend on it.
“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” 2 Timothy 4:3-4
Bibliography
- Duguid, Iain M. Ezekiel. NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999.
- Fung, Ronald Y. K. The Epistle to the Galatians. New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988.
- Guthrie, Donald. The Pastoral Epistles. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1990.
- Knight, George W., III. The Pastoral Epistles. New International Greek Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992.
- Motyer, J. Alec. The Message of Jeremiah. The Bible Speaks Today. Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1987.
- Mounce, William D. Pastoral Epistles. Word Biblical Commentary. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2000.
- Stott, John R. W. The Message of Acts. The Bible Speaks Today. Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1990.
