It’s not tinnitus
By Dean Collins
I’ve been experiencing some symptoms so I made an appointment with Dr. Google, and here are the possibilities: It could be muscular contractions around the jaw. It could be vascular. It could be Ménière’s disease. It could be age related. (I hate it when the doctor says age related!) Then I read it could be the result of exposure to a very loud noise for an extended period of time. And I realized that’s it!
I suspect you’ve heard the noise as well. I can’t remember when I noticed it, but it is constantly loud and annoying. Everywhere I go it is already there. I haven’t traveled as much during COVID-19 but I’ve heard it in every city I have visited lately. I’m wondering if you’ve heard it. If you have, we may want to organize and report it to someone. It might be a national emergency. It might even have international impact.
Let me describe it for you. It has a metallic sound. It’s as if only the cymbals are being played in the marching band. Fairly often it sounds like a giant gong being hit with a mallet. And it goes on and on.
Most of the remedies for ringing in the ears seem to be trying to avoid activity that starts it. Masking the sound with a fan or white noise machine can also be helpful.
The noise stopped!
Then I went to the one book that always helps me and I found a quiet place to read it. Two things happened. The noise immediately stopped. And I figured out the problem. There is apparently a lack of love in our country. As I thought about it, I wanted to blame the atheists. They make some noise from time to time. But it isn’t those who don’t believe in God or those who ignore him. The noise seems to be originating from the Christians.
Paul talks about it in 1 Corinthians 13. There he not only describes the noise but a variety of problems among Christians that make us largely ineffective.
No matter how great or notable our spiritual gift or Christian service, if we don’t have love we come off as a noisy gong or clanging symbol.
Learning to love
Before he was Paul he was Saul. And he had lots of knowledge. He had studied the law and the prophets. He also had power and was making a name for himself. He was creating a ruckus about these Christ followers who believed that Jesus had come back from the dead and insisted that he was the very Son of God.
And then Saul had a face-to-face experience with Jesus, and his life changed. Writing to the Corinthians he probably saw a lot of his old self. Filled with pride because of what they knew and the things they could do, yet ineffective, divided, and arguing about everything—just a noisy bunch of religious folks. Paul explained that the way forward was loving others the way Christ had first loved them.
Paul said real love that will stop the noise we are hearing must be patient and kind. It can’t be envious or boastful. It can’t rejoice when others mess up and make mistakes or get caught for something they did wrong. Real love celebrates truth and is always hopeful. It is never childish or stingy.
If Paul wrote this chapter today, he would probably mention some of our social media posts as examples that we lack love. When we taunt and accuse and self-righteously insist that our position above all others is always correct, we aren’t demonstrating love.
The noise is everywhere, created by the lack of love. I think we can reduce the noise significantly in our families, our churches, and our communities if we give up our childish comments and behavior and start loving those around us. And as we do, we will finally have a better understanding of who we are in Christ. Because every time we love another person, we look face-to-face with Jesus.
Your time with God’s Word
Photo by Brad Stallcup on Unsplash
