Apathetic America

My pastor (we will refer to him as Bro. T) and I spent some time talking tonight about the subject of apathy.

The reason that we were here in the office late on a Thursday night was because we were part of a phone bank that spent time calling voters in our county about Amendment 2. This amendment is up for a vote in the state of Florida this November. The Amendment does nothing more than define marriage as "between one man and one woman" - period! Now, if you ask most registered Republicans and hopefully all true Christians, just about everyone would tell you that they would support this amendment. The problem is that most of the people in Florida don't know it is on the ballot, or what it really stands for. As in the case of many amendments like this, the wording can be so confusing that people vote NO, because they are not sure what it is & they don't want to vote for something they don't know about.

So, we got involved because we see the potential harmful effects if this does not pass. #1) Although gay marriage is not legalized in Florida, if this does not pass, then many gays will begin to flood the state to get married, and force the judiciary to recognize their marriage. #2) Once that happens, then government can begin to squeeze the churches when they speak against homosexuality from the pulpit - citing "hate speech" #3) We may not see this on the ballot again, therefore we may never have another chance to vote this into law.

As a result, with a little assistance from me, Bro. T has contacted ALL of the churches in our county to let them know that we need help in communicating this to the county. We have asked that the pastors' mention this need to their congregation and encourage them to volunteer on this phone bank, so that we can make the citizens aware of the importance of this issue.

Now, let me clarify - we have NO INTEREST in politics. By that, I mean that none of us have the aspiration of running for office. Although we have no intention of becoming political, Bro. T put it this way, "This is a biblical issue that is being fought in a political arena". So, we feel that we are fighting for a biblical issue. Having said that, we have been shocked at how much no one seems to care about this. Now, we understand that a lot of pastors just don't have a lot of time, but we are not asking the pastors to do the work. We are asking that they encourage their people to do the work.

But that is not happening. We surmize that this is just another example of how apathetic we have become as Christians, and as a nation. We just don't care. Do you think that homosexuals should have the right to get married in our country? No? Then why don't we DO something about it. It is because we either don't feel that it is really that important, or we think that someone else will take care of it. We feel perfectly content, as we sit in front of the TV set, to agree or disagree with the newscasters while we sit on the couch. We may even get disgusted as we watch some of the wickedness on TV, but that is as far as it goes most times. Nothing is done or said outside of the home, unless we are talking to a group of friends at church. We don't mind talking about how bad things are, but don't ask us to do anything about it.

It all comes down to this - we are consumed with the things that we care about. That may not sound very profound, but stop and think about that for a minute - then apply it to your life. What are you consumed with? I told Bro. T tonight that I can get consumed with Ohio State Buckeye football. I will read ESPN.com everyday to find out if anyone has written an article about them. Oh, and don't ask me to go anywhere on Saturday when the game is on. Julie has come to pray that Ohio State win, even though she is really not a fan. Because, she knows that if they win, I will be in a good mood; but, if they lose, I will be grumpy the rest of the weekend. Now, you may sit there and pass judgment on me, but you must apply this. For you, it may not be a favorite sports team, but there may be some thing that you are consumed with - passionate about - that is not spiritual or truly beneficial.

What are we consumed with? Is it really important? Is it spending quality time with your family, keeping your office/home clean, serving your fellow Christian/neighbor, spending time reading God's Word, actively finding a way to show someone you care? Or is it making money, being the best dressed, having the nice house/car, being popular, building your DVD collection? This is a source of frustration for those of us in ministry as we attempt to motivate people into action. Yet, we are guilty of this attitude maybe more so. May God help us to "let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us" (Heb. 12:1), so that we can pursue those things that truly hold value - the things that we will ultimately be held accountable for. As Michael W. Smith put it, "pray for me, and I'll pray for you."

WHO CARES?

This subject was addressed tonight during our youth group session at our church. Originally, we were discussing what the Bible has to say about cheating. As much as you can say about cheating (and we did), the discussion stalled when I was giving them suggestions on how to avoid cheating. I gave them a hypothetical example – “What if you were in the hospital the whole night before your quiz. Can’t you ask your teacher for an extension to give you an opportunity to prepare, instead of felling like you have to cheat?” The overwhelming response from the group was that they sincerely believed that their teacher’s really didn’t care about whether they needed help or not. The perception is that the teacher has a job and they do their job – with no regard to the individual needs of the student. Now, many of us adults will want to get into a discussion with the teens about why they didn’t prepare for the quiz ahead of time, but I had to stop and consider the response from the majority of our teens. OUR TEACHERS REALLY DON’T CARE. This comment has stuck with Julie and I all night. Julie is working on her master’s degree in Educational Psychology (way to go, Sweetheart!), and this mentality is pure fodder for her class on student psychology. But the reality is that this brought both of us to tears. It is possible that we are too close to the students to have a truly objective view of this comment, but I look at this from a much broader perspective. Just what do we care about? Why? What do we not care about? Why not?

The phrase “who cares?” defines an attitude of apathy. This attitude, unfortunately, defines the culture in which we live. But just how accurately does this define me? What about you? I believe that the Lord has given me the desire to study this topic during my devotional time. So, I plan on submitting these studies on my blog. I encourage you to study this with me, comment on my posts, give me your input, and share this blog with your family and friends. I don’t expect this to result in some sort of cult following, but I think that this is a topic that we all need to consider. As you read my posts, feel free to encourage, give examples, reflect on your past & present and reinforce any ideas that you feel are valid. In contrast, you are also welcome to use your comments to correct, disagree, or debate. My desire is not to educate. My desire is to learn. It is my belief that the best place to learn from is the Bible. So, my attention will be directed at God’s Word, as well as past and present-day examples.

So, do you care to come along? It may not be as smooth of a ride as you might expect. It may be down-right excruciating. If you plan on using these posts to point the finger at someone else, please don’t read any further. The only pre-qualification is self-application – no hypocrites allowed. Remember the Pharisee when he prayed and thanked the Lord that he was not like the publican? I don’t want to be guilty of that. I want God to do a work in my heart (and yours – whoever you are). Don’t put up a wall of pride. All that will do is dam up the rivers of blessing I feel that God will let flow, if we are only transparent and humble. So, let me remind you, this journey could get rocky, but, then again …who cares?