Does this sound like you?
But
don't blame me. I didn't do anything. I go to church; the pastor
preaches;
I go home, I complain, ″I can’t hear what’s being said or the music is to loud, ″It’s either too hot or too cold inside the church, ″The sermon is too long or short,
″The
church is always asking for money. ″ The Band Plays On”
That's what Christianity is to me now.
If so, perhaps you have a problem with apathy.
After
getting to know I might be a complainer, I thought maybe I should first pray
about it then with the help of the Spirit, come up with a solution to enhance
my walk with Christ, and be a part of a solution to being the church God has
called us to be,
“be
active in service and spirituality”. Why is my only desire it seems to be
spurred on by problems or complaints?
Yes,
there are times to stand up and let your voice be heard, but do it prayerfully
and have a solution or, at least be willing to be a part of a solution. It is
easy to point fingers; it takes faith to take a towel, as our Lord
demonstrated, and wholeheartedly serve. John 13:1-5.
Spiritual
apathy, coldness, or indifference can affect even the sincerest Christian at
one time or another. Human emotions being as fickle as they are, feelings of
apathy or disinterest can sometimes replace the fervor we once felt for the
things of God. Overcoming such apathy is necessary for continuing our walk with
God.
The one who realizes he is spiritually apathetic
needs to, first of all, make sure he is a true believer in Jesus Christ “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the
Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.” 1 John 5:13 “The Spirit
himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,” Romans 8:16
If
he knows that he is a true believer in Christ, he needs to then ask himself
this question: “What caused me to lose my love and passion for the Lord?”
When
apathy is around, no one may notice because it is self-refuting, when I was apathetic
person I never admit to being apathetic! And, unless the apathetic ones are the
vocal complainers, they are unseen in the church or family. A person in sin
will not admit he or she is a sinner unless the Spirit intervenes John 14:16, Rom. 7:21-25, 8:26-27; 2 Cor. 3:18; 1 John 2:1). But, this is not
a "new" problem; perhaps it is not even getting worse. Perhaps I
notice it more during special programs or, I am just getting more sensitive to
it with age.
Turning
things upside down always makes me a little upset or uncomfortable. This is the time I start asking and
challenging myself with thought questions,” I wonder about my love and passion
for the Lord”? This kind of transformation is anxiety-provoking and sometimes
even threatening. But Jesus did this in order to show people then and now what
really matters.
A story is
told of a theology professor who stood before his class and had some items in
front of him. He silently picked up a large empty jar and filled it with 2”
wide rocks. He asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. So, the professor picked up some
gravel and poured it into the jar. The gravel rolled into the areas between the
rocks. Again, he asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it
was.
The
professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. The sand filled
up everything else. Once more he asked if the jar was full. The students
responded unanimously yes. The professor then produced two cans of Sprite and
poured them into the jar, filling any open space between the sand. The students
laughed.
“Well,”
said the professor as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this
jar represents your life. The rocks are the most important things—your family,
your partner, your health, your children—things that if everything else was
lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the
other things that matter like your job, your house, your car. The sand is
everything else, the small stuff.
“If you put
the sand into the jar first, he continued, “There’s no room for the pebbles or
the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy
on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important
to you. Turn your life upside down. Pay attention to the things that are
critical to your happiness. Put the rocks in first. Play with your children.
Take your spouse out to a movie. Invest in your church. Turn your life upside
down. Take care of the rocks first, the things that really matter.”
Jesus
transformed things by turning things upside down—and He did this so that people
and things that really mattered would be taken care of. St. Paul turns things
upside down in his teachings to the churches he founded as well. Like Jesus, he
did this so that people and things that really mattered would be cared for.
Both Jesus and Paul make some “upside down” assertions in today’s readings.
One
cause of spiritual apathy is sin in the believer’s life. When David sinned, he
felt separated from God (Psalm 51:11). As he confessed his sin to God, David prayed
for God to “renew a steadfast spirit” within him (verse 10), and he had this
request: “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing
spirit, to sustain me” (verse 12). A believer who feels spiritually apathetic
should confess any known sin and ask for God’s cleansing and renewal.
Another cause of spiritual apathy is allowing
dead orthodoxy to replace a true love for the Lord. A Christian is to be marked
by his love for and obedience of Jesus (John 14:21), but it is
possible to obey without love. It is possible to cling to the truth and serve
God yet do so in a loveless, lifeless fashion. Such mechanical service is not
pleasing to God. This was the Lord’s condemnation of the Ephesian church in Revelation 2:4: “You have forsaken the love you had at
first.” When Paul wrote to the same church around AD 60, he commended them for
their love (Ephesians 1:15–16), but now, some thirty years later, they had
left their first love. Their passion had waned. Why? Perhaps the Ephesians had
begun to take for granted what they had in Christ. Living for Christ was no
longer a daily adventure; it was becoming “boring,” and they were losing sight
of their eternal purpose. The church at Ephesus knew the teachings of Christ,
but they were not living in His power. In so doing they lost their vibrant love
and passion for Christ.
What’s the solution, then, for turning spiritual
apathy into a renewed love and passion for Jesus Christ? The word to the
spiritually apathetic Ephesian church was, “Consider how far you have fallen!
Repent and do the things you did at first” (Revelation 2:4). The spiritually apathetic person needs to remember, repent, and renew.
First, the spiritually apathetic person needs to remember; that is, he
should think back to the time when he sensed the warmth and closeness of
Christ’s presence. He should realize that he can return to that state of
fellowship. Then he needs to repent; that is, he needs to see his spiritual apathy as sin
and confess that sin to God (1 John 1:9). Finally, he needs to renew; that is, he must
cultivate a renewed commitment to the Lord—not just serving the Lord, but
knowing Him, praising Him, and fellowshipping with Him. He should start again,
if he has discontinued it, daily Bible reading and prayer. He should let the
indwelling Holy Spirit empower him so his life will display the fruit of the
Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23). And he should fellowship with a
Bible-believing local church (Hebrews 10:25).
Satan loves apathy. We must stay alert to the
temptations of the old nature, the world, and the evil one. We must never lose
the sense that God is always with us and in us. “We have this treasure in jars
of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us” (2 Corinthians 4:7). As we begin to worship and praise the Lord
and let Christ control our lives each day, we will rediscover a life of
adventure filled with joy and eternal purpose. We will wonder how we ever
became spiritually apathetic in the first place.
God Bless
You and This Ministry!
