Weekly Scripture

Revelation 3:16

So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot,
I will spue thee out of my mouth.

It was William Osler who said, “By far the most dangerous foe we have to fight is apathy—indifference from what ever cause, not from lack of knowledge, but from carelessness, from absorption in other pursuits, from a contempt bred of self satisfaction.”

There is probably no worse time to allow apathy to take hold of our lives then right now. We live in a society that breeds indifference. We are consistantly deluged with shocking information regarding issues in which we have no control. Life has been accelerated to a frantic pace and sometimes it seems as if all we are able to concentrate on is keeping our head above water. We are forced to live in the tyranny of the urgent and this affects our outlook on life. However, this is a crucial time in the history of man and we can’t allow ourselves to become self absorbed and numb to immorality. As Jesus told us:

Watch ye therefore, because you know not what hour your Lord will come. But this know ye, that, if the goodman of the house knew at what hour the thief would come, he would certainly watch and would not suffer his house to be broken open. Wherefore be you also ready, because at what hour you know not the Son of man will come. Who, thinkest thou, is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath appointed over his family, to give them meat in season? Blessed is that servant, whom when his lord shall come he shall find so doing. Amen I say to you: he shall place him over all his goods. But if that evil servant shall say in his heart: My lord is long a coming: And shall begin to strike his fellow servants and shall eat and drink with drunkards: The lord of that servant shall come in a day that he hopeth not and at an hour that he knoweth not: And shall separate him and appoint his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mat 24:42-51).

This has always been a sign of spiritual apathy. People tune out God and tune in to self indulgence. This is exactly what happened to ancient Israel. It is what occurred to the Jews during the time of the restoration, and it is happening to America right now! Perhaps the most tragic part is that it is also happening to the Church of God. As Christ said, “They all slumbered and slept” (Mat. 25:5). We are being anesthetized by our modern culture.

Further, within the church, the division, the infighting, and spiritual error are leading to a stronger sense of apathy as brethren lower their standards and go along simply to get along. Some have even said, “Every church is wrong somewhere,” insinuating that we should simply accept false doctrines and support any organization we personally like.

Let’s not allow these things to impact our spiritual lives. The time we live in is critical. God is making the final choices for the bride of Christ. He is finding out where each of stand, how much we value our calling, and if we will are willing to give all of ourselves to God in order to obtain His kingdom.