I made the argument a few posts ago that the opposite of love was not hate, but rather apathy.
First, let's define our terms so that we are very clear about what we are talking about. Thanks to the Cambridge dictionary, I have an American English definition and a British English definition.
American English: lack of interest, or the attitude of not caring resulting from it.
British English: behavior that shows no interest or energy and shows that someone is unwilling to take action, especially over something important.
OK. That's apathy. Let's look at the definition of love as I'm thinking about it for this post. Please note, there are no warm fuzzy feelings and there are no emotions in what I'm doing here.
I Corinthians 13:4-8a (paraphrased): Love is patient and kind. Love is not discontent or resentful because of what someone else has. Love does not brag, is not arrogant, is not rude, does not demand its own way, and is not irritable. Love is not happy when bad things happen to people and rejoices in the truth. Loves bears, believes, hopes, and endures all things. Love never ends.
Look!! It's all verbs. It's action. Yes some things (irritability) might be driven by emotion, but it's the action that is being talked about. Love is a verb and it describes action whereas apathy is the exact opposite of that as it describes an inaction.
Summary:
1. Love cares what happens to another person. Love tells my child not to play in the street. Apathy doesn't care. Apathy says, "I don't care whether you play in the street or not."
2. Love is an action and apathy is inaction.
So, do we act toward God with love or are we inactive? Do we respond to the Holy Spirit guiding us or do we sit back and ignore Him? Do we respond with action based on what we read about God in the Bible? Does our prayer time get us up and moving? Or do we sit back to see what will happen without us?
Now, this post is me talking to Christians. Because 1) I don't believe that doing good things plays a role in salvation and 2) why should you act loving towards a God you don't believe in. So, it is the Christian to whom I say, if you truly believe that God is who the Bible says He is, and you accept His gift of salvation and say that you love Him, then what actions are corresponding to that love? If there is no action, then there is no love!
I wish I had this down myself. I wish I could say that I was an example to follow, but I'm not. I'm just as guilty of an apathetic spiritual life as many others I see today. I talk a religious talk, but do I pray (meaningfully, not just for meals and when I'm stuck in traffic) and do I read God's Word on a daily basis because those are the main actions I can perform to get to know this God that I love? Or do I go through the day trying to make myself happy? Sometimes I remember to thank God for the good days. In fact, many days I do. I try hard not to be an ungrateful person. But, if my love is nothing more than gratefulness, and there is no other action that goes with it...then that's a really weak love.
So, let's just talk about today. What are you going to do today to reciprocate God's love for you? Will it be to reach out to the needy or to a fellow Christian who needs encouragement (obeying God's commands), will you spend some good, quality time alone with God today (growing the loving relationship you have with God), or will you share the love of God with someone you know (fulfilling the great commission)? All action and all love!
To God be the glory!
First, let's define our terms so that we are very clear about what we are talking about. Thanks to the Cambridge dictionary, I have an American English definition and a British English definition.
American English: lack of interest, or the attitude of not caring resulting from it.
British English: behavior that shows no interest or energy and shows that someone is unwilling to take action, especially over something important.
OK. That's apathy. Let's look at the definition of love as I'm thinking about it for this post. Please note, there are no warm fuzzy feelings and there are no emotions in what I'm doing here.
I Corinthians 13:4-8a (paraphrased): Love is patient and kind. Love is not discontent or resentful because of what someone else has. Love does not brag, is not arrogant, is not rude, does not demand its own way, and is not irritable. Love is not happy when bad things happen to people and rejoices in the truth. Loves bears, believes, hopes, and endures all things. Love never ends.
Look!! It's all verbs. It's action. Yes some things (irritability) might be driven by emotion, but it's the action that is being talked about. Love is a verb and it describes action whereas apathy is the exact opposite of that as it describes an inaction.
Summary:
1. Love cares what happens to another person. Love tells my child not to play in the street. Apathy doesn't care. Apathy says, "I don't care whether you play in the street or not."
2. Love is an action and apathy is inaction.
So, do we act toward God with love or are we inactive? Do we respond to the Holy Spirit guiding us or do we sit back and ignore Him? Do we respond with action based on what we read about God in the Bible? Does our prayer time get us up and moving? Or do we sit back to see what will happen without us?
Now, this post is me talking to Christians. Because 1) I don't believe that doing good things plays a role in salvation and 2) why should you act loving towards a God you don't believe in. So, it is the Christian to whom I say, if you truly believe that God is who the Bible says He is, and you accept His gift of salvation and say that you love Him, then what actions are corresponding to that love? If there is no action, then there is no love!
I wish I had this down myself. I wish I could say that I was an example to follow, but I'm not. I'm just as guilty of an apathetic spiritual life as many others I see today. I talk a religious talk, but do I pray (meaningfully, not just for meals and when I'm stuck in traffic) and do I read God's Word on a daily basis because those are the main actions I can perform to get to know this God that I love? Or do I go through the day trying to make myself happy? Sometimes I remember to thank God for the good days. In fact, many days I do. I try hard not to be an ungrateful person. But, if my love is nothing more than gratefulness, and there is no other action that goes with it...then that's a really weak love.
So, let's just talk about today. What are you going to do today to reciprocate God's love for you? Will it be to reach out to the needy or to a fellow Christian who needs encouragement (obeying God's commands), will you spend some good, quality time alone with God today (growing the loving relationship you have with God), or will you share the love of God with someone you know (fulfilling the great commission)? All action and all love!
To God be the glory!
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