I almost don’t have the will to write this blog post (in fact, don’t be surprised if it just ends suddenly). But that is just the point isn’t it. There are seasons in our lives where we really are apathetic towards anything that doesn’t contribute to our daily routine. It really is sad. It may even be amplified by cold weather and decreased sun light…but the truth is, this becomes my greatest excuse for underachievement. It seems to affect all areas of my life be it work, fatherhood, husbandry, ministry, etc. I find myself wishing I had stepped up a little more at home. Or maybe I think about how that youth event might have run better if I were a little more present. The scary part about it is that I am usually the one to blame. Not that I think apathy is a sin, but maybe it is one of those undesirable things we wish to be rid of. But then a little voice in my ear rings out these eternal words from James, “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them. (4:17)”

Ugh…there it is. The stuff I ought to do. And that is where the problem with apathy comes into play. It is self-indulgence personified. I am the one who doesn’t feel like it and so I am the one who finds an excuse not to do it. And after all, it is all about me.

The scary part about the reverse of apathy becomes this overwhelming need to do the good. What is good? There is so much that needs to be done. There are hungry that need to be fed. Thirsty that need clean water. Sick that need medicine and health care. All of a sudden you can find yourself being crushed into apathy by the very good you sought to do. And that is why the little things become so important. It is the little things in life that defeat apathy. Finding a chore to do so that your spouse doesn’t have to. Shoveling the neighbor’s drive before they can get to it. Sending a letter (hand-written is the best) to someone you haven’t spoken to in a while. Little things.

And maybe if we are obedient in these things, we find ourselves not feeling quite so apathetic. Ugh. Now I can’t use that as an excuse. Better get busy.