LOPPING OFF EARS

"How are folks going to hear the Truth if we go around cutting their ears off." Memory fails me in quoting him verbatim, but professor and apologist John Lennox said something like this while making a passing comment about Peter’s slashing off Malchus' ear--Malchus, the servant of the high priest who was part of the party who arrested Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. This seminal, unique thought has been growing in my head for the past three weeks. I hate to say it, but I believe we Christians have too often been guilty of doing just that--lopping off folks' ears with the swords of our internet screeds, ranting posts, and ad hominem attacks on those with whom we disagree, particularly on political matters. I do not doubt folk's motives any more than I question Peter's. Odd thing is, Peter very probably acted out of deep devotion for Christ. Yet, acting out of devotion for Christ, he acted contrary to the nature of Christ. Many Christians act out of devotion, passionate patriotism, and genuine alarm. One says, “I posted that attack because I was devoted to my choice of presidential candidate and his conservative true-to-the-constitution convictions. I get it. But Peter was devoted to Jesus when he hacked off Malchus’ ear; nevertheless, Jesus rebuked him for it. It is futile for us to expect unbelievers to hear the Gospel we share if, prior to sharing it, we have hacked off their ears with our made-personal trolling of their posts and caustic comments. One’s beliefs may reveal the ignorance of modern thought. But the moment we call him a fool, we have lopped off his ears. Another’s political stance may embrace ignorance, but by calling him an idiot, we have severed his ear. And these are benign examples. Jesus, rather than lopping off folks’ ears, scanned the crowds looking for folks with them, “Who has ears to hear.” He wanted people to have ears to hear the Gospel. He reattached Malchus’ ear lopped off by Peter. It is doubtful that Malchus minus an ear, hacked off by a disciple, would have ever listened to the Gospel shared by a disciple. But, Malchus with an ear miraculously reattached by Jesus, I think, definitely would. He’d want to hear about this Jesus who’d given him back his ear. What does all this about this ear lopping say to us? First, Christians should have ears themselves: Folks are in bad enough shape without our lopping off their ears. Spiritually seen, most people are earless already—and, sadly, among them are many Christians. Imagine rising to speak to a crowd of people and each of them is earless. Grotesque indeed. But, not only are they earless, they have huge mouths—huge from use; all they do is talk, talk, talk. Perhaps, I should say, they have huge index fingers, huge from pecking at a keyboard. Allegorically, I say some people have no ears but huge mouths because they are quick and constant in spouting off but slow to hear. As Apostle James points out, this is the opposite of how a Christian should be: “Let every Christian be swift to hear and slow to speak.” I believe that the first step towards having unbelievers listen to our sharing of the Gospel is for Christians themselves to have ears—for Christians to show a willingness to listen to others before reacting with vitriolic vituperation. Second, Christians should fervently want unbelievers to have ears. It is not enough for a Christian that he has heard the Gospel that liberated him; a Christian desires that others hear it too. A Christian before going off on a tirade should ask, “Is it worth my lopping off this person’s ear with my political rant against him if it will leave him earless, incapable of hearing the Gospel?” It is funny but not funny how lopping off someone’s ear can leave such a bad taste in his mouth for the Gospel. Calling people names, insulting their level of intelligence, disparaging their character never put them in a frame of mind to hear the Gospel. Third, Christians should be circumspectly conscientious about saying or doing anything that would make them guilty of or complicit in lopping off the ears of those without the Gospel. The scriptural query, “How shall they hear without a preacher?” is a pertinently valid question. It is also a valid question to ask, “How shall they hear if we have lopped off their ears?” So many have no ears for spiritual things. We for sure don’t want to lop off the ears of those who do. It may be passion, patriotism, devotion, and zeal that lops off an opposing party’s ear. But it is Christlikeness that seeks to reattach the ear lopped off.