Like many other Christians in this tumultuous world, I am surrounded by apathy. It’s been said, “It’s easy to only focus on the bad. There is enough of it that it won’t run out. But you don’t have to go around looking for it.” I understood at once that this statement was very true. For years we have been shown all the bad in the world by the news media. It took me a while to realize that this was a problem for Christians today.
The idea that the odds are overwhelmingly stacked against you is, in my opinion, the foundation of apathy. If your viewpoint, your beliefs, your principles and priorities were not important to anyone else, why would you care? If you are certain of a loss, why even try to fight? It is not unreasonable to give up without a fight when you find bad and know that it is unbeatable.
Being afraid can lead to a lack of caring. And what begins as apathy may well destroy the church. It’s a corruption of faith, a removal of hope, and it seeps into a congregation, altering every facet of their lives.
Lack of faith subtly allows Christians to give in small areas without a guilty conscience. Apathy soon saps the fight right out of them. Once, another of my good Christian friends said, “I can’t put a Christian fish symbol on my car; I drive entirely too fast.” When I inquired as to why he doesn’t just drive at the speed limit, he said that he didn’t think the speed limit was that big of a deal. Yet I am certain that it is. In order to fight apathy, one needs faith, and the way to faith is remaining mindful of hope. That hope was Christ’s reason for willingly dying on the cross.
Christ (God himself), having seen that hope firsthand, was (and is) willing to endure derision, laughter, torture, and death simply because He was aware of the greater good in the future. His strength comes from the joy that is backing him.
Standing out in one’s faith is a skill that many Christians, including myself, have forgotten. We’ve forgotten our hope. In addition, it should be revealed that apathy has no place amongst us. If not a poison that slowly removes our defenses and corrupts our faith, what is apathy? Do you not know? Let us examine today’s faithful.
Someone once told me that if all who claimed to have faith truly did so without doubting, they would behave so different that the world couldn’t help but stand up and take notice. The way they did business, their attitudes, and their entire lifestyle would be changed dramatically. Their behavior would be like Christ, and people would acknowledge it.
Faith has been made mere words due to apathy. Christians have forgotten that just speaking the right phrases is not enough; actions must follow words.
Action is what is required. How does a Christian wage war against apathy? REAL faith, to a Christian, is choosing hope, the hope that Christ KNEW was more than enough, and stepping forward displaying hope in daily life. Putting on a Christian t-shirt was one of the first steps I made to advertise my faith. Well, maybe it sounds funny, but I was a walking billboard that day. In regards to my actions and reactions to others, I was extra cautious. My driving habits got considerably better, and my tone improved. And why? Because I had decided to go with Christ, informing others of my decision. And what do you know? I acted out of passion that day.
Take action now. You can look to the coming hope if you are faithful. Wear your Christian t-shirt or put a Christian fish on you car. You can volunteer at the local shelters and help out with community projects. When you give yourself to help others and you do so in the name of Christ, make sure to do it right by Him. Regard it with the utmost seriousness and grow into a force that the world must reckon with. And don’t forget, “Greater is He who is in you than He who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
When Bethany Chastain became a Christian, she wanted to share her faith and not become apathetic to the ways of Christ. So, she began looking for Christian Hoodies and other Christian t-shirts that could proclaim to the world that she belonged to God. Today, she shops C28 for her whole family, buying Christian clothing and Christian footwear.