Christian Apathy

What is the opposite of love? Most would say hate, but lately, I would argue that it is apathy.

Love is an intense feeling of deep affection, but apathy is a lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern. If you hate someone, you still care enough about them to have a feeling towards them and give enough effort to still hold them someplace in your mind. With apathy, you don't care. You know that person exists, but you do not put effort or thought towards them.

This is what happened to the Israelites in the book of Judges. All you have to read is Chapter 1 to understand the depravity they ended up in through this apathy. They were told the stories of exodus from Egypt. They knew the stories of God defeating the enemy in battle. They heard of how God provided mana in the desert. But they didn't care. They didn't let these "stories" of history impact them. God was just another god that existed. They followed the sin offerings while also worshipping Baal and Ashtaroth.

Because they let themselves become apathetic to God, they walked away from the truth. They walked away from God's promises. Because of this, God let them go to their heart's desire. Unfortunately, their desire led them to prostitution, child sacrifice, fertility rites, drunken sexual orgies, idolatry, snake worship, homosexuality, and so much more. All of these are the opposite of God's character. The Israelites became syncretistic and attempted to follow both religions.

Reading through Judges, I can't help but compare that to Christianity today—the following of both God and the world. Attending church on Sunday, maybe Bible study or prayer meeting during the week, but forgetting about Him in every other area of your life.

Let's ask a few questions:

• Do your coworkers know where you stand in the faith?

• Do you feel like you belong, or do you feel like an outsider because of your faith?

• What are your motives behind making money?

• How often do you read your Bible?

• Do you spend personal time in prayer?

• Are you an anxious person?

• Do you have sin issues you are hiding from other believers?

• Are you moving closer to God or further from Him?

• Do you sing during worship or worship during worship?

• Are you seeking a feeling? Or seeking God even in the mundane?

I will never say that we need to be perfect to follow God as He called us to. But we are supposed to be sanctified, that is, becoming more and more Holy as we move through life on this earth. Once we start forgetting about God and His sovereignty, we start moving towards trusting the world over Him.

So, how did we get here?

1. We lose fellowship with God and put time with Him second to anything or everything else. Without this fellowship, we stop following His commands for Him to be FIRST in our lives.

2. We forget about the grace that God has given us. We forget the salvation that has come only through His grace. We don't let this grace affect us in a meaningful way. Remember the zeal you had when you first surrendered at the cross? We need to have daily surrender to Him.

3. We reject God's word and truth. We start to look to other places for truth than to His word. We start to let the world control us rather than God.

If you are becoming apathetic towards God, this isn't the end! He is still chasing you! Just like in Judges, He sends people into our lives to remind us of the truth we once knew so we can get back on track. Maybe this post is the kick you need to make a meaningful change to God. Let's examine ourselves, our churches, our group of friends. Where are you in your faith? "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?" 2 Corinthians 13:5