ACKNOWLEDGING APATHY
when you don’t desire God’s global mission
A Not So Relaxing Day in the Park
It was a beautiful day in a sunny little beach town on the east coast. Birds were chirping and a cool breeze set the temperature to just about perfect. A group of my friends and I were walking past a park when something shining caught my eye—a metallic object in a man’s hand. I began to analyze the object and while my brain processed what I saw, it hit me. I realized that the shiny object was a knife and all of a sudden, the beautiful day felt a little less bright. Now that I had seen the knife, I could not rip my eyes away. My group of friends and I started following the man. No doubt everyone was planning in their heads how we should stop him. While we were thinking, we saw where the man was headed. He walked straight towards a picnic blanket with two college-aged girls having dinner.
The sense of urgency in the park went up a thousand-fold as the situation went from bad to worse... there was no one in between the girls and the imminent danger. We moved faster towards the situation when one of the girls finally saw the man for the first time and she shouted. He hesitated because of her shouts and he turned around only to realize that our group of friends were closing in on him. At this sight, he hustled away and it allowed us time to get to the girls and make sure everything was okay. After this, our group split; some of us went after him and called the police, while the others stayed with the girls and waited until law enforcement arrived.
This was a real event that happened to me and my friends. Yet, it dawned on me since this event that it was just a small-scale example of how we can view the missional world today. We can identify ourselves and others in the story if we look long enough.
The Bigger Picture
Not too different from the girls in the park, there are groups of people in the world who are in impending danger. Some see that danger coming while others will be blindsided by it if there is no alarm sounded. However, this danger is much worse—this is an eternal danger—a separation from God for those who don’t believe in Jesus. Those amidst the danger? The three billion unreached peoples located in the 10/40 Window; those who have little to no access to the gospel to believe it. Believing in Jesus is our only hope, including those who are facing this danger; therefore, someone has to share the gospel with the unreached. Otherwise, they may never have the opportunity to experience a relationship with Christ and have eternal life in him.
In the park, there actually was someone who never made it into the story. Someone who stood by while everything unfolded. Someone who saw the situation but did not jump in to help: a cadet from a local military college. He watched the entire situation go down, but instead of intervening; he was content playing with the drone that he had brought to the park that day.
In the situation itself, this was concerning, but the terrifying reality is that there are people who are in a similar situation when it comes to the unreached. The danger is urgent, but why are there so few Christians intervening? We have heard the need, we know the mission, and while we may look the part, many of us haven’t taken action. Many of us choose to be a bystander. The bystander Christian: an apathetic Christian. Only now, the consequences are eternal. Following Christ was not meant to be a uniform we just throw on in the morning for appearances, but a real calling to reach the lost world. We were not meant to be the bystander. God has invited us to be part of the story; to be those who are not content standing by and watching the situation unfold, but to take action and intervene.
I’m going to ask you a question that’s hard to answer: are you the cadet? Have you seen the need but you have a hard time desiring to take action? Perhaps you have even been hit by “The Bystander Effect,” and believe someone else will intervene instead. I hate to say it, but the truth is there may not be anyone else. Only three percent of the world’s long-term missionaries go to the 10/40 window, and for every $100,000 that Christians earn, only about a dollar and seventy-five cents is given to reaching the unreached. Do not choose to be out of the story.
This is not a time of condemnation but a moment of evaluation. It’s okay if you have a hard time caring about the world, but it’s not okay to never try to care. If you are tired of struggling to care for the things that God says he cares about or you feel like you are missing some part of the greater picture, then I have good news. You can begin fighting that apathy today! While there is no outright cure for apathy, there are things you can do right now to see God change your heart for his global mission.
Step 1: Pray for God to Change Your Heart
No number of actions, steps, or challenges will matter if the Holy Spirit does not intervene in changing your heart for the world. Ask Christ to help you fight against apathy and see what happens! He has a pretty good track record of changing hearts. He changed Saul’s heart about being king (1 Samuel 10:9). He changed Paul from someone who killed Christians to someone who preached in Jesus’ name (Acts 9:1-31). He made you a new creation if you found salvation in his name (2 Corinthians 5:17). Don’t try to muster up affection on your own, because you can’t. Only through the power of the Holy Spirit can your heart be changed (Psalm 51:10).
Step 2: Understand “The Calling”
“I’m just not called.” This is probably the number one thing heard when someone is looking to escape the invitation into God’s heart for the nations. Truthfully, while not all of us are “called” to cross an ocean with the gospel, we are all called to care about the nations. God loves the world so much that he sent his own son to save it (John 3:16). God loves the world, but then we see that we are commanded to love the world too. Jesus clearly invites us to love and care in The Great Commission texts (aka: The Great Commands) to see his name carried all over the world. Understand that caring about the nations is not a matter of being some “super-spiritual" follower of Christ but being an obedient one. Once this is understood, it can take the pressure off of us; no longer do we have to figure out if the world is something we should care about. Now, we get to joyously say, “God, would you teach me to care like you do?”
Step 3: Cultivating A Heart
Rome wasn’t built in a day. Most things do not happen all at once but are slowly built over time, including cultivating your heart for something. Usually, the things we care about the most are those that we consistently place in front of ourselves. When you don’t often see or interact with something, it’s easy to lose heart for it. Whether it's a book, a hobby, a friend, or anything else, the number one way to multiply your affection for something is to spend time with it.
So, spend time thinking about or looking towards the nations:
Sit in the scriptures and passages that reference the way God cares about the rest of the world. There are thousands of verses to start with. Here is a list of a couple.
Pray for the world and specifically for the unreached. Use the Unreached of the Day app by Joshua Project. Every day, they post an unreached people group and give specific ways to pray.
Step 4: Take Action
Caring about the nations is not just about the end goal but about the process. God will finish the Great Commission and he wants to use his followers to do it! None of us will ever love the nations as much as God, because he is God. Yet, he still invites us to care and get involved. So, while we may never be perfect, that does not excuse us from trying. Begin to cultivate your heart and then take action. For more practical next steps on how to get involved and be a World Christian click here.
Lastly, I want to ask you: where do you want to be now? All nations will be reached one day and I don’t want you to miss out on being a part of that. Joining God’s global plan simply requires a series of small steps and asking God to make a big impact. Begin to care about the nations and take the first small step today.
By Mason Willett
Mason has served The Traveling Team as one of our travelers since Fall 2020. He is a graduate from the University of Central Arkansas. Mason has a passion to see God’s heart for the nations spread to college students and the church.
