There is a tendency for people to say what they think other people want to hear. We falsely believe that it’s better to tell people what they want to hear and minimize the problem. If we follow this approach, then we think that it does not create conflict and may even ingratiate us to other people. This situation may be exacerbated when we know the people don’t want to face the truth. The prophet Jeremiah pointed out people’s resistance to listen to God’s word:

To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Behold, their ears are closed and they cannot listen. Behold, the word of the Lord has become for them a rebuke; they take no delight in it. (Jeremiah 6:10)

Jeremiah was faced with a twofold problem – the people were not listening and the leaders were not leading. A spiritual leader has the responsibility to tell the people not what they want to hear, but what they need to hear. The Apostle Paul encountered this situation and realized he could either say what the people wanted to hear or he could be faithful to God:

For am I now seeking the favor of people, or of God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:10)

Paul declared that if we’re trying to please people then we are not bond-servants of Christ – this is a sobering statement. In Jeremiah’s day the leaders were reluctant to point out the sinful behavior of the people, but they gave them a superficial absolution of their sin:

They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, saying, “Peace, peace,” but there is no peace. (Jeremiah 6:14)

Superficial comfort does not heal the seriousness of sin. Their false comfort was merely assuaging a serious condition. The people were being falsely comforted and the root problem of their sin was not being addressed. We see that this was a recurring problem for the nation as Jeremiah warned them later:

They have healed the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially, saying, “Peace, peace,” but there is no peace. (Jeremiah 8:11)

The consequences for not dealing with sin are severe. The people had received superficial forgiveness from their leaders and serious consequences were forthcoming:

Were they ashamed because of the abomination they had done? They were not ashamed at all, nor did they know even how to be ashamed. Therefore they will fall among those who fall; at the time that I punish them, they will collapse,” says the Lord. (Jeremiah 6:15)

How many people do we know who have a cavalier attitude toward sin thinking that God overlooks our sinful behavior. May we not settle for superficial healing, but desperately seek to lay the axe at the root of sin and walk in holiness.