What is Indifference? Why don’t we ever hear of it in public places or in discussion groups?
INDIFFERENCE keeps us small and locked in self-preservation mode. It’s the sin that forces you to settle for less than you were created to be. It’s the sin that numbs your heart and your capacity to feel. Not much is spoken about this sin in modern-day Christian circles. And that is exactly Satan’s plan. So long as this demon remains hidden, its power remains. You cannot overcome a sin you cannot name.
I never knew much about the meaning of INDIFFERENCE, let alone think much about it until I was married to a narcissistic man who practices INDIFFERENCE all the days of his life. For 40 odd years, I have been subjected to his nonchalance about everything around him. I think the worse possible form of INDIFFERENCE is STOIC INDIFFERENCE. I did not realize how deeply stoic he was until we had heard the news of his eldest brother’s terminal cancer diagnosis way back in 2001. His sister-in-law had commented once to me that they were rather surprised at his lack of apathy or concern. My reply to her was that he has been like this since we were married. Even at that time, I did wonder whether he has been like this since he was born or he had developed what is known now as a ‘personality disorder, over time, I truly have no clue.
Why is INDIFFERENCE a SIN?
It’s important that we understand that INDIFFERENCE is a sin. It’s not just something that offends God: it destroys us. INDIFFERENCE is the gateway to a host of other sins. And it takes us from not caring about others to sometimes taking pleasure at the misfortunes of others. It is the apathy of the world around us. A self-absorbed, narcissistic trait. For as long as our personal needs are met, there is really no reason to care about others. No reason whatsoever. Hence lies the danger of a slippery slope whereby one can slide into darkness. If we do not have a self impose ‘wake-up call’ we will continue on this path of darkness to a point of no return. Such indifference strikes me as tragic. It also strikes me as being a sin against the heart of God.
Is INDIFFERENCE really a sin, some might ask? Well, only if you take seriously the weight of God’s instructions to be kind and loving towards one another, to be patient and bear with one another, to speak the truth in love, to confess our sins to one another so that we may be healed, to forgive as we have been forgiven, to welcome the stranger, to share our bread with the hungry. To do justice, to practice forgiveness, and to walk humbly with our God.
As Christians, we cannot—we must not—be indifferent to the question of what it means to live the truth that we are all God’s children (even those who do not acknowledge him) and that Christ came in love for all. Even though we are tired and numb and despairing in the face of relentless bad news, we must not succumb to indifference as though such events do not affect us or tear at the web of mutuality in which we live. We must let ourselves feel the anger, the outrage, the confusion, the grief, the fear… we must go down to the depths and cry out to God from that place. We must weep, we must wail.
All It Takes for Evil to Prevail
But why are we in this ‘state of slumber?’ Why do we stop caring about love, kindness, mindfulness, justice, and mercy, and walking with God? All it takes is for evil to prevail because as long as satan suppresses one in a state of ‘slumber,’ there, he is able to use you as a conduit for evil and self-destruction, falling into a deep dark ‘rabbit hole’ of addictions, anxiety, and depression. His demon of choice is to keep us asleep is acedia. It is an ancient term for spiritual apathy or mental sloth. In modern terms, acedia simply means “absence of care”
Whatever you choose to call this sin does not matter as the seriousness you give it. Spiritual indifference has both personal and societal consequences. Some even consider it the alpha sin, the worst of all sins. The early church father, Evagrius, referring to acedia as the “noonday demon,” says, “the other demons are like the rising or setting sun in that they’re found in only a part of the soul. The noonday demon, however, is accustomed to embracing the entire soul and oppressing the spirit.” Alexander Schemann says, “The basic disease is sloth…It is the root of all sin because it poisons the spiritual energy at its very source.”Indifference convinces us that change isn’t possible. Left unchecked, it grows into a deep-rooted cynicism, the kind that gives the same response to personal transformation and societal injustice: “What for?”
Jesus speaks to the seriousness of acedia in the Parable of the Talents. I have written an article on the Parable of the Talents in my earlier post. For those unfamiliar with the story, it goes like this:
A master divvies out talents to three servants: to the first, five; to the second, two; to the third, one. The first two do something with their talents, trading them and acquiring more. The one talent guy, however, does nothing. He buries his talent and pulls up a chair until his master’s return.
When the master finally returns from his extended trip, he asks the three to pony up. The five-talent guy presents his master with five more. The two-talent guy presents his master with two more. The master praises both as “good and faithful servants.”
The one-talent guy, however, gives his master back exactly what he received, one talent. To this, the master loses it, calling this servant “wicked and slothful.”
There it is. Slothful.
This man was guilty of what? Playing it safe. Risking nothing. Investing nothing. Burying his treasure and sitting still. This is the sin of indifference on full display.
And what’s more?
Spiritual indifference convinces us God is unfair and hard to please and can’t be trusted. That’s what the one-talent man says, right? “I knew you to be a hard man… (Matt. 25:24). Indifference paints a toxic image of God. Once the portrait is complete, the only thing we see is fear.
How indifference progresses into fear?
We start by playing it safe, and the image of God changes to reflect a God who values comfort and security. In this world, risk is irresponsible. In this world, God is unfair and rewards people who save for the future and behave properly.
From this toxic image of God comes almost every form of evil. Shame. Dehumanization. Greed. Pride. Lust.
We need to take ownership of this and repent. We need to wake up! Awake from our slumber! We need to stop living for personal comforts and immediate needs. We need to care about injustice and oppression. We need to be aware of that small voice that says “who cares?” or “my voice won’t make a difference” as evil. That is the demon of indifference trying to creep into our hearts and minds.
We need to recognize that we were created to care, and this sin will use any means necessary to prevent us from taking risks and speaking out against injustice or practicing kindness and mindfulness toward our brothers and sisters in Christ.
WAKE UP FROM YOUR SLUMBER!
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
– Matthew 3:2 –
#indifferenceisasin #indifference