From the sci-fi novel Children of God by Mary Doria Russell:
"...it is not rebellion or doubt or even sin that breaks God's heart; it is indifference."
Thoughts?
"...it is not rebellion or doubt or even sin that breaks God's heart; it is indifference."
Thoughts?
posted by jch at
4:58 PM
11 Comments:
Well, it means I'm not breaking God's heart right now, and thats refreshing.
I was talking to a friend of mine a long time ago about my family situation and he said to me that the opposite of love is not hate, but indifference. I think that to be very true. Love and hate, doubt and sin, and rebellion all require action and thought and committment. Indifference requires nothing and is basically the point where a person (or deity, in this case) has been put aside and forgotten about. I would imagine there's nothing worse than that, even for God.
My biggest challenge in being a youth minister is battleing the indifference my teens feel towards their relationship with God.
I have worked with kids who are completly unaware of God, and have lives that reflect that. Yet they can be very open to the prospects of a new life through the revelation of scripture and experiencing the love of Christ. Especially if it's something they have never heard before.
Then I have kids who have grown up in church and a "good" home that seemingly don't care about having a Christian ethic or real relationship with God. They come to church, youth group activities, and other things yet their lives don't reflect any kind of connection or real relationship with God.
I have no words or experiences that seem to be able to break through the indifference of some of my kids. Just today one of my kids showed me his video game "God of War." In one of the cut scenes the main charecter is shown in bed with two bare breasted women. His comment to me was "they don't really show anything, and it's not that big a deal." He wasn't even flustered one little bit that his youth minister was about to see this scene in the youth room of the church. I can appreciate his comfortableness of being his real self around me, but it's still hard to know how to deal with his indifference.
Good quote.
Henry Nouwen said something along those lines in his book, "The Wounded Healer". He says that what the suffering person finds most appalling is another's apathy toward his situation. I think that this is the root of the anger of poverty and racial injustice. Surely when God talks of His punishment upon those who oppress the poor, it is not just those who are overtly acting, causing their suffering, but also those who see and do nothing.
( I know not exactly the topic)
We are still praying for y'all. Praying that God makes His answer for you easy to see.
Love,
Karise
I don't think doubt breaks God's heart; sin and rebellion certainly do, but indifference (which is sin, right?) is probably the most overlooked thing that grieves God's heart. Maybe this is the point of the story of the Lost Son in Luke 15, in which the older son is indifferent toward his brother's return.
Isn't this corporate indifference the greatest sin defining American churches? I mean, it's easy to accomplish your hopes as a church if you don't have to meddle with that messy business of reaching out to the lost and broken... excuse my cynicism...
I just told my ladies group this week how scary Rev 3:14+ is to me... to be neither hot nor cold. As one comment already talked about that indifference as one growing up in church, I have felt that in my own life often. I'm a good person, I don't do "bad" things, blah, blah, blah and sometimes forget I am the worst of sinners who needs God's grace just like the "real" sinners out there. I told the group that I think it is a HUGE obstacle in our churches these days and you know the response to my comment... indifference. Chilling.
lisa c
sometimes I find myself frustrated at life and circumstances, and occassionally in those times I sort of try to avoid God (as if that's actually possible)-I wonder if this is being indifferent, too? praying for you Joe and family (and thinking about this question)
I think I just have a problem with the idea of "breaking God's heart." It sounds like a one-way trip to guilt-ridden theology to me. And that is most certainly not the path I'm told to follow in the bible. Besides, "breaking God's heart" is just a little too anthropomorphic for me. He's God, not your "best bud". Sorry, if that comes across too cold, but cuddliness in theology always makes me groan. :)
Martin Luther King once said that he was not discouraged by the angry words of his enemies, but the silence of his friends....and so I guess the same is true of God.
Among us, the thing that grieves God most is disobedience, for the flower of His creation -- Man -- fell through an act of disobedience. Therefore, when one is obedient to God and His Church, He values this, even above almsgiving.
God is God and seeks relationship with us. Sure it grieves Him when we don't, but remember we are nothing without Him, and He exists for His pleasure, not ours.
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