Heard Immunity

The idea of herd immunity has been bandied about a great deal during the Covid19 pandemic. Some insist it is a valid concept that will eventually profit all of society; others allege it cannot be depended on. However, this article is not about the virus or solutions to the problem. You read the title correctly; we want to talk about heard immunity. This concept involves those who have heard the truth so many times they have become immune to it.

This affliction can be experienced by those who attend worship for a number of weeks, months, or years. They know the plan of salvation so well that they could offer the invitation. But they have not themselves obeyed, nor do they know any time soon when they might be likely to do so. Week after week they hear salvation explained, but their hearts are never stirred by the message. Have they heard it so often that their mind jumps to some other subject when that part of the sermon rolls around? Evangelist Dayton Keesee once told about someone he saw that literally had to prevent himself from stepping out into the aisle to go forward and be baptized. He could see his knuckles turn white from gripping the pew in front of him so tightly. Two years later, he preached a meeting at the same place. The same man was there, but he no longer struggled to keep from obeying; he had developed heard immunity.

In this sense, the immunity is not to the disease but to the cure. Sin is the problem of all mankind, and obeying the gospel is the cure. Members of the church also exhibit the symptoms of deafness. Some begin to tune out when they hear a sentence with the word evangelism in it. They have worked all that out in their minds and are convinced that they are somehow exempt from that requirement. The same reaction occurs when they hear sermons concerning holiness or a discussion of modesty or mixed swimming. Some ignore what they hear about alcohol or marriage, divorce, and remarriage. They have convinced themselves that these topics are just something preachers feel compelled to teach on, but they don\'t them seriously.

Heard immunity does not confine itself to religious topics. Teenagers frequently subscribe to it, too. \\\\"Oh, there goes Mom, warning me against hanging out with certain friends. I've heard this lecture before. And there goes Dad again, cautioning me to be careful when I drive because tickets and accidents will raise our insurance rates." Wives will testify that their husbands suffer from this problem, also; that's the reason they say, "This is the third time I've told you...." All of us experience this phenomenon from time to time in certain situations. We should be very careful, however, not to let it occur spiritually; the place of torment will be populated by people who became adept at practicing heard immunity.