The Apathetic Christian: Distracted by Everything But God!

The Apathetic Christian: Distracted by Everything But God!

The Apathetic Christian: Distracted by Everything But God!

I must admit I am often too easily distracted. Many things contribute to our distraction in this culture and of course technology is probably the main one. Let’s be honest many of us don’t have time for God, for Christ. I would venture to say many Christians only have contact with the bible when the pick it up to move it out of the way on Sundays. Entertainment has taken too high a priority as we have elevated it to an escape valve from life in general.

And lets not lose sight of the fact that we can use our faith, shallow as it is, for a distraction as well. We can know about Christ but not know him.

The religion of Apathy alongside Atheism and agnosticism is a tough nut to crack and its one we usually ignore. We live in a secular culture and we are consistently distracted by our smart phones, computers etc. God falls off the edge of the table, we just don’t need him. Science “seems” to be able to explain most everything. And you know as an apathetic person I can make a good living, have a good marriage, friends and sin from time to time and no one really cares right?

Apathy is pervasive in our culture. Cynicism is high, nothing works right, the government is broken, we evangelicals are losing our social power, no body cares any more about anything so why bother with God? Many people are insulated in their lives form adversity or suffering or so it seems. Adversity comes to us all. I have met agnostics who believe that all that is necessary in life is their ability to work hard. But of course, they have not suffered yet and have not lost the ability to work.

Apathy like Atheism believes the questions themselves are irrelevant to life. Culture has sidelined God as being unnecessary for a good life. This is not new, it has happened over and over in humanities past yet today it may be more pronounced, inflated and promoted by media. There is no denying that our inner life is being choked by this constant need to fill all our time with content. Many have grown attached physically to their smartphone and it never leaves their side.

“Distractedness enables us to believe the myth that meaning comes from inside us. Religious labels—whether None, Baptist, or Buddhist—are merely a form of self-expression on the level of favorite store, college choice, or musical preference.”

“Our immersion in diversion and consumerism, Noble observes, affects our ability to communicate about faith and truth in three ways:

(1) it is easier to ignore contradictions and flaws in our basic beliefs; (2) we are less likely to devote time to introspection; and (3) conversations about faith can be easily perceived as just another exercise in superficial identity formation. (25)

In other words, the challenge is getting people to see that being a Christian is more than just adding another label to an already crowded social media biography.”

From the article: Disruptive Witness for a Distracted Age

So, we come to the emotional element to our belief. How strongly or weakly do you believe what you believe? Are you emotionally apathetic to your beliefs? No zeal or real interest? Are you apathetic?

As our culture has shifted to moral relativism and expressive individualism, we find that “truth” as founded in Christ is now questioned and often discarded. We can make or fake our own truth, right? It’s been happening in politics for years now and the Cult of Trump and the willingness of many Christians to believe lies in order to belong to a tribe drives home how far Christianity has fallen within the culture.

Many will use Christ as a dog whistle to draw people into their orbit and keep them there.

So, if we as Christians are living the Christian life, then there should be a visible love in a radiant joy that’s difficult to ignore. To then be a light in the midst of the darkness is to be illuminated by the Holy Spirit which requires a daily relationship with Christ. That relationship will be reflected in community, church, our marriages and friendships. That my friends are where the world will see credible displays of our Christian life and want to know what makes you different from the rest of us?

So right now, in the midst of all this apathy and evil we find comfort in the storm through scripture and through relationship with Christ. Be intentional and put aside your apathy and humble your self before our Lord!

#extraordinarygod