La,La,La…I Can’t Hear You

Remember being a kid, and someone would try to tell you something you didn’t want to hear? What would you do? Did you ever cover your ears, sing “la-la-la”, and yell at the person “I CAN’T HEAR YOU”? How many of you still do that? I recently saw a friend do it because they had Tivo’d a game and didn’t want to hear the results as a group of guys discussed it. Immature? Yes. Effective? Oh yeah.

I was reading in Acts the other day about a guy named Stephen. He was a regular guy telling anyone and everyone about how Jesus was the Messiah they have been waiting for. Well, the higher-ups in the government/religious leaders didn’t like this. So, they falsely accused Stephen of telling lies, which was a crime that carried a death sentence. Right before the council stoned him to death, Stephen says, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand!” (Acts 7:56).

If someone says this, whether you think they are crazy or not, you stop what you’re doing to look and listen. But, that didn’t happen. Check out the response of these “wise” and “distinguished” religious and government leaders from Acts 7:57, “Then they put their hands over their ears and began shouting.”

Can you imagine what that scene looked like? These men knew Stephen was telling them the truth, but they didn’t want to hear it. That’s because, if they heard it, it would require action and belief in a direction opposite of where they were heading.

Are there areas, people, circumstances, etc… in your life that are causing you to put your hands over your hears and say “I CAN’T HEAR YOU”? If so, how’s that working out for you?