Apathy is a lack of interest, enthusiasm, emotion, or concern.
Apathy is when you simply don’t care anymore.
You don’t care about hurting people.
You don’t care about people dying and going to Hell every day.
One of the scariest things that can happen to a Christian is that they become apathetic.
It can be your downfall.. it can turn into something that consumes you and controls you..
When you become apathetic, you lose the sensitivity….you become cold and hard hearted..
Apathy is a terrifying thing.
____________________________________________________________________
The thing about apathy is that it won’t just go away unless you’re intentional about it…
And once you’re intentional about overcoming it, you more than likely will not see immediate results.
But there is good news...
God never talks to you.
Nothing good ever comes out of your prayer times.
And you haven't noticed changes in the negative areas of your life over the past few weeks, months or years..
Let me tell you this; THAT IS NOT AS GOOD AS IT GETS!
Things can change!
God DESIRES for YOU to know HIM better.
If you feel apathetic, there is hope.
You can shift the focus of that apathy.
It is healthy to be apathetic about fitting society’s norms.
It is healthy to be apathetic about what people think about you.
It is healthy to be apathetic about the way people look at you when you live for Jesus.
Mark 4:1-20 (for this blog, specifically verses 1-8; 13-20) is a very good passage of scripture to read in relation to the topic of apathy. It may not appear to connect directly, but there is a lot of great truth in this parable.
1 Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”
13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”
I would like to share just a few quick thoughts from this passage.
If you have become apathetic, the step to redemption and recovery may be the process of you finding a new foundation. If you are not deeply rooted in Christ, eventually, everything will wither.
Many of the things we root ourselves in will give us a false sense of security, comfortability, and well-being; but in time, if we are not rooted in the one TRUE, CONSTANT, REAL thing; then we will suffer for it.
Make sure you’re sense of joy isn’t in other people. Make sure you don’t become dependent on materials. Instead, live a Christ-centered life.
When you renew your foundation, and renew your relationship with Him, you will develop a burden for the things you were once apathetic towards.
________________________________________________________________________________
resource: a great article on apathy! http://www.churchleaders.com/outreach-missions/outreach-missions-blogs/156989-jd_greear_apathy_as_the_enemy_of_the_gospel.html
Apathy is when you simply don’t care anymore.
You don’t care about hurting people.
You don’t care about people dying and going to Hell every day.
One of the scariest things that can happen to a Christian is that they become apathetic.
It can be your downfall.. it can turn into something that consumes you and controls you..
When you become apathetic, you lose the sensitivity….you become cold and hard hearted..
Apathy is a terrifying thing.
____________________________________________________________________
The thing about apathy is that it won’t just go away unless you’re intentional about it…
And once you’re intentional about overcoming it, you more than likely will not see immediate results.
But there is good news...
There are a few things that can potentially help remedy your apathy.
1. Prayer times- Longer prayer times; more consistent prayer times; changing up the way you pray.
2. More praise and worship- This is one way you can change the way you pray. Prayer isn’t meant to be a list of requests to God, and prayer isn’t meant to be us complaining to God about all of our issues; trust me, He already knows about them. Instead, thank God for what He has done for you. Also, be less “Me” centered with your prayer times.
3. Fasting- Fasting can be one of the greatest cures because it makes you completely vulnerable. It makes you more sensitive physically and emotionally, and therefore, many times if you have a hard heart, fasting may be just what you need to soften it.
______________________________________________________________________________
With that being said, if these don’t work, the issue may be deeper rooted.
If so, do not delay; do not put it off; do not take it lightly.
The first step towards overcoming apathy happens when you realize that one of the worst things you can do is think too lightly of the power of apathy.
It is unhealthy to underestimate apathy.
1. Prayer times- Longer prayer times; more consistent prayer times; changing up the way you pray.
2. More praise and worship- This is one way you can change the way you pray. Prayer isn’t meant to be a list of requests to God, and prayer isn’t meant to be us complaining to God about all of our issues; trust me, He already knows about them. Instead, thank God for what He has done for you. Also, be less “Me” centered with your prayer times.
3. Fasting- Fasting can be one of the greatest cures because it makes you completely vulnerable. It makes you more sensitive physically and emotionally, and therefore, many times if you have a hard heart, fasting may be just what you need to soften it.
______________________________________________________________________________
With that being said, if these don’t work, the issue may be deeper rooted.
If so, do not delay; do not put it off; do not take it lightly.
The first step towards overcoming apathy happens when you realize that one of the worst things you can do is think too lightly of the power of apathy.
It is unhealthy to underestimate apathy.
When you underestimate the influence apathy can have, it may often lead to things like:
Backsliding; losing your morals; turning away from God; doubting your faith; and many other terrible things.
Do not take apathy lightly.
Another very common mistake people make is that they allow themselves to be in denial about their apathy.
It is unhealthy to be naive about apathy.
The fact of the matter is that we all go through dry seasons; but we need to be careful not to confuse them with apathy. God WANTS to make Himself known in our lives. He wants to speak to us, He wants to speak through us, and He wants to empower us in mighty ways.
If you feel like when you pray:
Everything is dry.
Backsliding; losing your morals; turning away from God; doubting your faith; and many other terrible things.
Do not take apathy lightly.
Another very common mistake people make is that they allow themselves to be in denial about their apathy.
It is unhealthy to be naive about apathy.
The fact of the matter is that we all go through dry seasons; but we need to be careful not to confuse them with apathy. God WANTS to make Himself known in our lives. He wants to speak to us, He wants to speak through us, and He wants to empower us in mighty ways.
If you feel like when you pray:
Everything is dry.
God never talks to you.
Nothing good ever comes out of your prayer times.
And you haven't noticed changes in the negative areas of your life over the past few weeks, months or years..
Let me tell you this; THAT IS NOT AS GOOD AS IT GETS!
Things can change!
God DESIRES for YOU to know HIM better.
If you feel apathetic, there is hope.
You can shift the focus of that apathy.
It is healthy to be apathetic about fitting society’s norms.
It is healthy to be apathetic about what people think about you.
It is healthy to be apathetic about the way people look at you when you live for Jesus.
Mark 4:1-20 (for this blog, specifically verses 1-8; 13-20) is a very good passage of scripture to read in relation to the topic of apathy. It may not appear to connect directly, but there is a lot of great truth in this parable.
1 Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”
13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”
I would like to share just a few quick thoughts from this passage.
If you have become apathetic, the step to redemption and recovery may be the process of you finding a new foundation. If you are not deeply rooted in Christ, eventually, everything will wither.
Many of the things we root ourselves in will give us a false sense of security, comfortability, and well-being; but in time, if we are not rooted in the one TRUE, CONSTANT, REAL thing; then we will suffer for it.
Make sure you’re sense of joy isn’t in other people. Make sure you don’t become dependent on materials. Instead, live a Christ-centered life.
When you renew your foundation, and renew your relationship with Him, you will develop a burden for the things you were once apathetic towards.
________________________________________________________________________________
resource: a great article on apathy! http://www.churchleaders.com/outreach-missions/outreach-missions-blogs/156989-jd_greear_apathy_as_the_enemy_of_the_gospel.html
No comments:
Post a Comment