Eternal Games of Chance...
Apathy
What kind of a person goes to a game
of chance puts down a bet and does not care about the outcome? Could it be that such a person is an apathetic
and/or indifferent individual—one who does not have an emotional investment in
what he is doing?
Apathy or indifference is defined as
follows,
Apathy …1. Lack
of interest or concern, especially regarding matters of general importance or
appeal; indifference. 2. Lack of emotion
or feeling; impassiveness….”
The American Heritage Dictionary
The definition goes on to trace the
word back through history noting that it comes from a Greek word that means
without feeling (a = against or without, pathetic = pathos or feeling). Simply it is an attitude of just not caring—not
having emotional “buy in” thus no emotional investment in a situation or
circumstance.
Apathy in the extreme, results in one
detaching from life and ending up in some kind of a pathologically detached
state. However, one must keep in mind that such indifferences
as listed above are not without consequence.
Imagine the Outcome of Indifference
Imagine being on a freeway with
apathetic drivers—those who just do not care.
How far do you suppose you would get without injury or fatality? Not far.
Imagine the same for one’s work place
or profession. There would be dire
outcomes for working in and among the apathetic. Maybe it might not make much of a difference in
some jobs but imagine working with an apathetic logger, an indifferent fork
lift operator, an unconcerned emergency room physician, or riding in an
airplane with an apathetic pilot.
Apathy and Ethical Restraint
Dissolute or lacking in moral
restraint is one outcome of apathy. Since
the notion of morals comes from societal mores, the worst outcome that may
accrue is to fall out of favor with those of similar moral belief.
However, there is a much more serious
outcome and that is indifference to ethics and the attendant ethical restraint. An ethic is a transcendent, universal, objective
standard. The very essence of well-being,
both cultural and personal is derived from living within the boundaries of
ethical standards.
What is the outcome of ethical apathy? To know
about but face ethics with apathy is to chance chaos in one’s personal life and
as well in culture.
Apathy and Bondage
Some years ago someone observed that
the last step before a people falling into bondage is apathy. It would appear that even if a people can
identify but are indifferent to the trends and practices of a greater power,
then they soon will fall prey to that greater power. History abounds with examples.
So then in these and other situations
apathy or indifference goes well beyond simple emotional detachment from circumstances
and/or one’s situation to consequences.
Often those consequences are most dire.
However, none are more dire and with less influence than those which
follow.
Spiritual Apathy
There is no more serious apathy than
that of religious/spiritual matters. In
fact, it is of the greatest of impacts and therefore the most serious in
outcomes. It is so because of God’s
design of Judeo-Christian tradition is that it is to influence if not impact
every area of a person’s life.
Judeo-Christian tradition is not just
to influence but it is to be the anchor point around which all else in one’s
life is to revolve. If one cares not
where they anchor, then one cares not about that around which their life
revolves.
If there is religious/spiritual
apathy, the consequences are in the areas listed above as well as others. Reading the Bible and spending time in prayer,
if at all, is tedious. There is a lack
of interest in things of spiritual significance. There is a lack of concern for others and
their needs. Christianity is seen as an exercise in
boredom. Such a person is suffering a lethargy
that leads to spiritual laziness. It
gets worse!
Eternal Apathy
This is the person who knows that
there is a God and may well be able to tell you all about Him but does not care
about his eternal future. Again, it is
that person who knows that there is an eternal future for which one must
prepare but does not care and in fact is indifferent to an extreme.
Thus the outcome of their choice: Since such a one does not have an investment
in the eternal “then,” they simply do not invest in the temporal “now.”
"And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper...and although they know the ordinances of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them." (Romans 1:28-31in part, NASU)
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