Resources/Articles
Chilling Indifference
“Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is brought upon me…” (Lamentations 1:12)
The passage above is the words of the prophet Jeremiah over the miseries which had fallen upon the kingdom of Judah. Their sins had brought about their captivity in Babylon. The concern the Jews had for themselves and the condition of the nation as a whole at that time was best illustrated in what Jeremiah says. They felt no sorrow for their spiritually depraved condition. They did not care.
When people do not care, sin abounds more. What would have shocked us a few years ago has become “part of society”. What we were stunned to see at one point, we walk past it thinking, “I can’t do a thing about it”. Such attitudes cause us to be neither for nor against. We lack any feeling. We fail to pray. We feel beaten and hopeless. We have pity for the next generation by saying, “I feel sorry for what my grandkids are going to have to face when they get older.” Is the only hope we have for such indifference, “things are going to get worse”?
“Get up!” is what I have heard parents say to their children when they are laying in the floor, rolling around, and hindering the path of someone who is trying to walk past them. “Awake, thou that sleepest and arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine upon thee”(Ephesians 5:14) are the words delivered to the church at Ephesus. Those same words can lead to Christians eliminating a soul chilling indifference from their life and the life of the church.
Regardless of what causes indifference (i.e. ignorance, fear of man, lack of love, desire for comfort, etc.”, our mission is to do the will of Him who created us and gave us life. It is not dependent upon having people accompany you to do what is right. It is not dependent on whether you are young or old. It is not dependent upon your position in life or the number of years you have been a Christian. God’s people are to be “zealous of good works” (Titus 2:14). Such action depends on one thing – God’s grace instructing us how to do it (Titus 2:11,12).
Christians are given the task of abounding in the work of the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:58), adding to their faith (2 Peter 1:5-7), running with patience the race before us (Hebrews 12:1,2), fighting the good fight (1 Timothy 6:12), and being fervent in spirit (Romans 12:11). Such behavior not only eliminates indifference, it keeps the seed of apathy from germinating. Therefore, do not walk by seeing yourself in the mirror of the word (James 1:23,24), nor catch a glimpse of sin in the world (James 1:21) with a soul-chilling indifference. Free yourself from the bondage of apathy and help others by following the truth. Have an active faith. It is the only faith which saves (Hebrews 11:6; James 2:14-18).
