Pretending to Love God’s Word – Eze 33:30-33
The only thing worse than someone not listening is someone pretending to listen but still not listening. That is the kind of audience Ezekiel had. They were saying to one another, “Come let us hear what Ezekiel has to say from the Lord” (v.30). They came to hear him and they sat there “as the people”. Yet, despite all their listening, they never did anything about what they heard.
They showed much love with their mouth, but their heart was focused on what they could get (covetousness). They said Ezekiel’s messages were like a lovely song from a person with a good voice and great skill, but his messages never caused genuine change. They heard but they never did.
I wonder how often we do the same? Do we come and listen and appear to be “the people” but we never really are because we never actually do anything about what we hear?
Has the reading and the preaching of the Bible become just a form of entertainment like nice music? Do we come to hear and enjoy but never obey? May God forgive us for playing games and pretending but never intending to act on what we hear!