All heaven is interested in the cross of Christ,
all hell is terribly afraid of it,
while men are the only beings who more or less ignore it’s meaning.
– Oswald Chambers
In my previous series on fear we learned together what fear is, where it comes from, why we have it, and how to conquer it. But there is another enemy that lurks about wanting to take away our thunder as believers to be the church we were destined to be. Like fear, apathy is probably the only other killer of evangelism today.
What Is Apathy?
According to the Encarta Dictionary of North American English, apathy is the lack of enthusiasm or energy in the interest in anything, or the absence of any wish to do anything. It also means the inability to feel normal or passionate human feelings or to respond emotionally. Its synonyms are even more telling. Words like indifference; lack of concern or interest; lethargy; laziness; and boredom.
In modern Greek, apatheia, literally means “absence of passion”, “insensibility”, or “coolness”.
The graph to the left is the mental state between challenge level and skill level from a psychologist’s point of view, but can still be used to illustrate a typical problem in the church. As you can see we already have dealt with fear (anxiety) and even worry, though not at the level of anxiety, thus fears nonetheless. With fear and worry you see that the challenge level is from medium to high, with the skill level being the lowest on the scale. The Christian sees the need and desire to win souls, but doesn’t have (or think they have) the skills to do the task. One excuse might be “I don’t know enough”, where with apathy, both challenge and skill level is at the lowest on the scale. This means that the person is not skilled at all, and failing to be challenged to do so and whose excuse is plainly, “I don’t know…and I don’t care.”
I think of the modern church today when it comes to apathy and evangelism. Christians (and I say loosely) don’t know how to witness and care not to learn. A couple years ago when my friend Tony held an evangelism course in my church of 75 people, only three showed up. That means that only 4% of the church came to the course. Unfortunately it was one of the reasons why he left. The only bad thing is that even though he went to a larger church and had more people come to his class, it was still about 4% of the entire congregation which tells me that apathy crosses denominational lines as well. It’s not only a problem in one denomination or group, but the church as a whole.
Where should the Christian church be in the above diagram? Shouldn’t it be in FLOW? As a Christian, don’t you have a desire to see 6 billion people saved? Aren’t you challenged to see that come to pass? With two people dying every second (150,000 people/day), doesn’t that seem like an overwhelmingly important task? Even if you have family and friends who are unsaved, wouldn’t you like to spend eternity with them and be assured they are saved from God’s wrath in hell? So why do we feel apathy much of our lives?
Do you know why I am doing this blog? It’s because I need to be freed from apathy just like the next person. I struggle with apathy on a daily basis as much as much as I struggle with fear. My spirit is always at war with my flesh, and my flesh with my spirit. Personally, I am tired of it. In my spirit I want that passion and desire to see 6 billion people saved. I want to see bars and strip clubs shut down and hold bible studies. I want to see a person who hated Jesus Christ metamorphosisized by the power of the Holy Spirit and totally be sold out for God. Wouldn’t you like to see that happen? Just think a worldwide revival. If I can help myself along with others who are like minded…then I will do it…and God be glorified in it.
So mighty man or woman of valor…let’s break the bondage of apathy and live the life we were destined to live. To God be the glory.
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