The Danger of Dullness

The Danger of Dullness

Hebrews 5:11 & 6:12
5:11 of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.
6:12 that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

   Are you dull?  This might sound like a social problem, but I’m talking about a spiritual issue.  “Dull” used here is not referring to the sharpness of a blade’s edge but it’s used to mean sluggish or lazy.  What I’m asking you is are you getting spiritually sluggish or lazy?  The writer of Hebrews used it twice when talking about the Hebrew Christians.
   In chapter five he is telling them about Christ and says he has much more to tell them but they have become “dull” of hearing.  We know this happens in a physical sense and you probably know someone this has happened to.  They have a hard time hearing you when you talk and need to turn the TV up louder to hear it.  But this also happens to our spiritual hearing.  We can let ourselves become dull of hearing and not hear God’s Word being taught or preached.  The pastor can lay his heart out before us but with our hearing dull we can let our minds wander and we think of what’s for dinner or who’s going to win the big game or what that rattle under the hood is or any of a hundred other trivial things.  Oh, look!  It’s 10 after noon and he’s STILL going on and on!  When is he going to get done so I can get out of here?  And we miss what God is trying to tell us.
   Then in chapter six he is complementing them on their work and then warns them not to become sluggish.  The Greek word for “sluggish” is the same one used in chapter five for “dull.”  What the author is warning about here is the problem he spoke of the chapter before.  Since you work so hard for the lord and care for each other, don’t become dull and stop these good works.  There is a real danger here because it’s easy to get tired of working all the time and want to “take a little time off.”  Once you begin to skip services and stay home, you are more likely to become sluggish in spiritual things.  It’s happened to me and I’ve witnessed it happen to many others.
   So I ask you again, are you dull?  Do you still hear God’s Word?  Does it excite your heart?  Do you look forward to going to church services or is it just “what I do on Sundays.”  Be honest!  If you try to lie, the only one you’re lying to is yourself.  God already knows the condition of your heart.  But the good news is that being dull is not a fatal condition if you turn to God and pray that He revives your spirit.  He can blow that little spark in your soul back to flame again.  He can call to your dull ears and you will be able to hear His Words again.  He can cure your dull eyes so you can see the truth again.
   Revival does not begin in your church.  Revival only begins in one place:  in your heart.  If you want your church to experience revival, let it begin in you.

Stephen Cram                            January 27, 2013                Colossians 2:8

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.  Colossians 2:8