Battling Apathy Part 1

Nick Minerva • Jun 07, 2021

Apathy is simply an absence or suppression of passion, emotion, or excitement. It’s a lack of interest in or concern about something. 1 The difficulty with it though is it’s not always easy to recognize in ourselves. Apathy can often be caused by discouragement or depression. Sometimes we slowly fall into apathy because we are filling our hearts and minds with things that are of little consequence and as a result, we entertain ourselves into indifference. 

I think one of its main causes is the fact that we are constantly bombarded by problems and we allow ourselves to get so overwhelmed that we no longer have the capacity to care. Given all that we went through the last year and a half, it’s going to be very easy to become apathetic and not even realize it. We have been bombarded with struggles, sickness, corruption, and fear, and a lot of these things seem to be outside of our control; and if we aren’t careful, we will subconsciously go into a kind of self-preservation mode and turn ourselves off from caring even about the things we can do something about. 

The Problem With Apathy

The problem with apathy though is that it allows problems to perpetuate. Apathy keeps us from living on mission for God in areas that we can make a difference. Now I’m not saying we need to be social media warriors and “advocates” for every cause that comes across our feed. But that doesn’t mean we can allow ourselves to be lulled into apathy.

God has allowed certain issues to come into your sphere of influence so that you can make a difference in them. He placed you at your place of employment so that glorify him by the way you passionately pursue your career. God has put people into your life so that you can passionately point them to Jesus. Living in apathy sidelines us from the mission of God and it reveals that our hearts are not being driven by the things of God. And God feels pretty strongly about it. Consider his warning to the church at Laodicea.

Revelation 3:15-16  I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot. So,  because you are lukewarm , and neither hot nor cold,  I am going to vomit you out of my mouth.

Apathy Is Not Simply A Lack of Emotional Expression

Write Jon Bloom said  “In God’s mind, fervency, zeal, or passion aren’t descriptions of how emotive we are. They’re gauges that display what our heart treasures, and therefore what fuels our lives.”  2

I can’t excuse apathy, or even a lack of fervency, because I’m an introvert. Zeal and passion are not the same as emotional expression. Apathy is a lack of caring. But I want to paint a different picture. What if instead of becoming so overwhelmed with the problems in our world that we become apathetic; we become so overwhelmed by the power of God’s love that we were moved to action?

So how do we battle Apathy?

Awaken Your Heart To The Fullness of God’s Love

2 Corinthians 5:14-15 tells us it’s the love of Christ that compels us. The love of Christ is not just an emotional support blanket for when we are having a bad day. The love of God and consequently our love for him is something that involves every part of who we are. 3

Arrested By Love

The Greek word for “compel” means to compress or arrest (a prisoner), to hold together; figuratively, to compel, preoccupy:—constrain, hold, keep in, press, to be taken with. 4

This is why the Apostle Paul, the writer of 2 Corinthians, described the love of Christ as a compelling force in the life of Christians. The love of Christ controls us, constrains us, animates us, moves us, and drives us into action. 

Because of the love of Christ, our sin has been reckoned with and accounted for. His righteousness is given to us and we receive his righteous status because he was made to be sin for us. He takes our sin; he gives us his righteousness. We are connected vitally through our union with Christ because he imputed, he planted within us, his perfect, righteous life of obedience.

Moved Into Action

Christ imputed not only innocence but also righteousness, not only pardon but perfection. He was not only condemned in our place as a punishment bearer; he also stood in our place as law keeper. Jesus not only died the death that we should have died; he also lived the life that we should have lived. 

Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 that Christ died for us; and our old unbelieving, rebellious self died in him. Now our new believing selves live. Then in verse 15 comes the aim of all this love of Christ:  that we might live for him!  So as we meditate on his love, his saving grace, and all he has done for us we will be moved into action so that others might now and experience him. We will be driven by a burning desire that others might see and experience how good our God is! The Holy Spirit will drive us towards living like him and for him. 

Every act of obedience, no matter how big or how small, is passionately pursued because it displays the glory and greatness of our God! The more we are captivated by the love of God the more we will be driven to action. 

I would love to connect with you on  Facebook  or  Instagram. I also wrote a  book ! If you  subscribe  to my weekly newsletter, I will send you the digital version for free.

  1. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/apathy
  2. https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/lord-deliver-me-from-indifference
  3. Luke 10:27
  4. https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g4912/csb/mgnt/

The post Battling Apathy Part 1 appeared first on Thriving In Exile.

A Creed To Remind The Gathered Church Of Its New Life In Christ

By Nick Minerva • 14 Jul, 2023
When I was pastoring I wanted to read a blessing over the church that would remind all of us of our new life in Christ. So I wrote this new life creed and every week I would read it and remind us of what Christ had done for us. We gather together as believers professing our great need We acknowledge that we have fallen short We confess that we are rebels who have gone our own way Apart from Christ, we stand condemned, guilty, and unable to save ourselves But what we are incapable of doing, God did In his infinite love, God made a way of salvation for all who would believe Jesus willingly laid down his life and received the just punishment we deserve So that could walk in new life So yes, we confess our great need We humbly recognize that apart from Christ we are incapable of any good thing But we also proclaim that because of the finished work of the cross we will never be apart from Christ We are forever secure in the love of the Father We have been sealed by the Holy Spirit All because of the sacrifice of the Son, Jesus Christ. We are no longer in bondage to sin We are no longer facing righteous wrath We have been declared holy by our King And nothing on heaven or earth will change that reality This gathering is a testimony to our redeemed state We pursue holy living to be an authentic demonstration of the love we have for Christ We believe that we have been empowered by grace to meet our every need And we gladly anticipate the complete fulfillment of our adaption and the remaking of this world at the coming of our Lord To Christ be glory forever and ever Amen

A Praying Church: A Book Review

By Nick Minerva • 23 May, 2023
Prayer is one of those topics that always seems to convict me. I have never heard a sermon or read a book on prayer and not been challenged. Even as I am writing this review there is a bit of imposter syndrome because I know I should pray more. In A Praying Church , Paul Miller writes about how to become a people of hope in a discouraging world through prayer. And he does so in a way that was very authentic and accessible. While I was consistently challenged, I was also consistently encouraged. Throughout the book, he takes you on his journey of developing a personal prayer life plus countless stories of ministries that developed communal prayer as a vital component of their life together. One thing that struck home with me throughout these stories was the reality that prayer always grows out of desperation for God. There were several things that I found very helpful in this book. One of them was the connection between a life yielded to the Holy Spirit and a vibrant prayer life. The power to do anything of eternal importance comes from the Holy Spirit and the Spirit moves in response to prayer. Paul shows us a biblical pattern we see throughout the New Testament. Prayer-Spirit-Jesus-power. However, this is not a simple formula to get God to do what you want. Another thing I appreciated about this book is Paul tells us time and again that the Spirit often moves in ways we don’t expect and that almost always includes difficulties. The Spirit enables us to look more like Jesus and that means joining him in the fellowship of his suffering. So this is not a “how to turn God into your personal genie” scheme, like many books on prayer. God often answers in ways we don’t expect and in places we don’t anticipate. This book is also full of practical help. I’ve already mentioned the stories he tells, but Paul also offers several helpful charts, strategies, and ideas to help put into place what he writes about (and lives by.) At the end of each chapter, he has a section called “A Word To Pastors” with a few paragraphs of wisdom to help them become a person of prayer and then lead their congregation to become a church of prayer. This book also made me thankful that I am a part of a church that has sought to grow in corporate prayer over the last few years. This would be a great book for any ministry leader who is burdened with the prayer life of his or her church. But it’s also a great read for any believer seeking to develop their own prayer life. Crossway was kind to send me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. You can get a copy of it at the affiliate link below.

Non-Toxic Masculinity: A Book Review

By Nick Minerva • 28 Apr, 2023
Let me start this review by saying everyone should read this book. If you've grown up in Evangelicalism, you‘ve no doubt heard of purity culture. For the last several years we have seen the harm that has come as a result of this sub-group of Christianity. In Non-Toxic Masculinity, Zachary Wagner does an excellent job unpacking its teaching and the damage that has come as a result. He explains so well the angst I've been feeling with the movement and how often the Church falls short and winds up doing more damage. But unlike many critiques, this one also points a way forward. We know what toxic male sexuality looks like. We see it in the news and unfortunately, in the Church. But what does healthy male sexuality look like? What does it look like for me? What will it look like for my boys? In my heart, I know what I want it to look like, but so often I struggle to find the right words to express it. Non-Toxic Masculinity paints a healthy picture that is (re)humanizing and ultimately looks like Jesus, who, like all of us, had a sexual body. Zach is also very transparent in this book and God used his transparency to encourage, challenge, and convict me. As you read his story you will no doubt find yourself resonating with him on some level. Every man should read this book for themselves first and foremost. But if you have sons, nephews, grandsons, or young boys in your life, reading it is a must. Non-Toxic Masculinity is a breath of fresh air that will prove to be a tremendous resource for generations. Thank you Zach for writing it and sharing your story to serve us.
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