December 17 | Standing Against Christian Apathy
Matthew 24:12-13, “12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”
Apathy means, “to lack passion and concern for certain things in life.” To be apathetic in the church means, “to lose one’s passion for the things of God.” Jesus said in today’s passage that in the last days people would grow cold in their love for Him because of the increase of wickedness. James also said, “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them” (James 4:17). Apathy is sin.
The disciple of Christ should never lose their passion for God but rather should do all the good they can, for as long as they can and to as many people as they can.
Today Christians are facing a “War of Worldviews.” As the LGBT agenda has fought its way out of the closet they have slowly pushed Christians into the closet. The same is true in the media, they say they want “diversity,” however; they try to silence whoever has a diverse opinion than them!
At one time in the U.S. it was mainstream to be a Christian and hold to a biblical worldview, yet now we live in a time where “good” is called “evil” and “evil” is called “good” (Isaiah 5:20-21). For example, when we stand up for traditional marriage we are called “intolerant,” “evil” and “bigoted.” Yet, they call it “good” and “compassionate” to encourage children to get sex changes and be pumped full of dangerous chemicals the rest of their lives!
The pressure to be considered “tolerant,” “accepting” and “loving” has caused many Christians to become apathetic to the world around them. Some have altogether left the gospel ship and have set sail with the wicked. While others have a “hide and huddle” mindset because they are afraid to rock the boat of culture wanting not to be labeled a “hatemonger.” Still there are some that get more emotional when their favorite sports team loses, than watching their culture be destroyed from the inside out. As Jesus warned in today’s passage, if we’re not careful the love of wickedness in our land can make our hearts cold towards God.
Therefore, we need to rise up and be like the mighty men and women of God that Hebrews 11 described in the “Hall of Faith.” We need to fight the good fight of faith- not only for our generation, but also for all generations to come after us until Jesus returns. In love, we must resist the powers of Satan that use people to bring about his destruction on the earth and establish the Kingdom of God here as it is in heaven.
Here are three ways to stand against apathy; (1) Get on fire for God and stay on fire by the power of the Holy Spirit. (2) Do all the good you can for as long as you can. A wise man once said, “You may not be able to do everything, but you can do something.” (3) Pray for people who are apathetic to awake and be world changers and generation shakers for God!
Reflection
Have you been apathetic?
Action
- Explain from the Bible why apathy is sinful.
- Pray that God will use you to reach out to those in the church who have been apathetic.
- Resources: “Revolution in the Church” & “Saving a Sick America” by Dr. Michael Brown.
One Year Reading Plan
Nahum 1:1-3:19, Revelation 8:1-13, Psalm 136:1-26, & Proverbs 30:7-9. Click here to read online.