Reining In Our Indifference

We must be on our guard at all times in this life. While we may think we care for others as we go about our lives as self proclaimed good folks, we are sometimes asleep at the wheel.  Even people with good ministries are susceptible to the curse of indifference in their lives.

We often think it is our privilege to have a lack of interest in a situation. We put our concern and sympathy only where we want to put it. This is the indifference we must rein in. It is not, however, an easy task to accomplish on our own. We must seek God in all things, not picking and choosing on our own as we live out our existence here on Earth.

Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel once wrote, “The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.” Wiesel surely understood indifference.

In our time, we can be fooled and think that things are so much better in life in our time that we can move about taking care of our own needs and ignoring those of others. Paul reminds us in Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

In Matthew 11:16-17 we are reminded by Jesus as he and John the Baptist reached out to others, “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates, “We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.”

So it is that indifference is our enemy.  Whether it is ignoring the inspiration of scripture and our present day spiritual teachers, and/or just being willing to block out those people and things we don’t want to deal with.

You probably remember the song written and sung by Bobby Gentry entitled “Ode to Billy Joe”. Through the years many have tried to figure out the real meaning of this tune. All sorts of things have been suggested as to what the daughter and Billy Joe were throwing off the Tallahatchie Bridge and why Billy Joe jumped off. A movie was made to tell the story, but it still didn’t solve the puzzle for most people. Bobby Gentry has always maintained that the song is about human indifference; a sort of unconscious meanness.

We must live our lives by not being so quick to judge others and by being sensitive to the needs and concerns that engulf us. We must dance to the flute and mourn to the dirge.

Touched by God During my Brain Surgery Event

After over a year of thinking I was having bad sinus headaches, the reality of my real illness came closer as I began to experience intermittent double-vision. As the fact of my brain tumor was being revealed and my diagnosis determined, I began a journey on which the ultimate revelation was unfolding.

First, I was lifted up in prayer by the Christian Community I was so fortunate to have been a part of for many years. Second, I was intentional about letting people know of my situation and not trying to keep it a big secret. Through all of this, God revealed Himself to me through His Spirit. I felt an overwhelming love and forgiveness. Even though I had been told all my life that I was forgiven through Christ's atonement, I never really felt it until then. I felt as if I had been brushed clean with a wire brush using the strongest cleaning compound. God communicated to me non-verbally that He loved me and I felt totally secure no matter what the outcome of my illness and surgery. Being with Him was the comfort and He gave me a glimpse into His Eternal Kingdom. I lost my fear of death and all worry about my family disappeared as He showed me the love that He has for them as well.

God Showed me through His Spirit that I'm already in Eternal Life and that I need not draw a line between life and death. Yes, I can begin to experience His Kingdom right here and now. This is only a snapshot of His revelation to me. There were many images that helped build this newfound reality. The impact on me was that all doubt was removed concerning God's existence and I now can freely celebrate His Kingdom and my part in it , as I seek His Will in all things.

Marcus Borg comes very close to describing what I experienced during my brain surgery event. He says, "Enlightenment as an archetypal religious metaphor belongs to a mystical way of being religious...........Such an experience leads to seeing everything differently. It is not simply an intellectual or mental 'seeing', as when we say, 'Oh, I see what you mean.' Rather, enlightenment as a religious experience involves communion or union with what is, an immediate 'knowing' of the sacred that transforms one's way of seeing." Borg goes on to say, "The language of enlightenment connects to John's emphasis upon knowing God. For John, such knowing is the primary meaning of 'eternal life', not a future state beyond death, but an experience in the present. To know God is eternal life: 'This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God.'" Add a touch of forgiveness and you've got it.
[Marcus J. Borg, Reading the Bible Again for the First Time, (c)2001 by Marcus J. Borg. Part Three, The New Testament, 8-Reading the Gospels Again p. 214.]