We live in a very busy age, in a world full of distractions. There are so many places to go and things to do, the allure of the internet and entertainment, and so forth. None of us is immune to distraction, which is why we have to make time for God and for the things of God, and to be sure that He is the One who sits on the throne of our hearts. I can think of a number of times that I got sidetracked into various activities, not sinful in and of themselves, but they stole time away from God so I had to reorganize my priorities. That is the point: Keep God at number one in your life.
Too many times, Christians not only fail at this but actually seem content to just acknowledge God every now and then, filling their lives with everything else. They are so full of the world, so full of stuff and activities and so on, that they have no hunger for God. They have no appetite for the Word of God and prayer, or even for church unless it’s to “check the good Christian box” or to meet people.
There are a lot of important Scriptures in the Bible. Some of the most important of all, besides those pertaining to Jesus Christ and the necessity for salvation, are those pertaining to our relationship with the Lord, reading His Word, prayer, and this verse right here:
Proverbs 4:23: Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.
This one little verse is so very central to right living! Our heart is essentially who we are. True, we are spirit, soul, and body (1 Thessalonians 5:23). All of these are important. Our body is the “house” that our inner being resides in. We, as Christians, are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. He made our spirit alive again and resides there in our inmost being. The soul is the bridge between the body and the spirit, comprised of the mind, will, and emotions, and these three are, in turn, components of the heart and are driven by the heart. Notice a related verse:
Romans 12:1-2: I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
How is it that our minds are transformed? By staying close to the Lord. When we read the Bible daily and meditate upon its truths, when we pray regularly and have fellowship with the Holy Spirit, when we also fellowship with spiritually mature believers, all these work together to transform our minds—our hearts—into a more Christlike state. We take care to not let just anything get into our heart, keeping (guarding) it. The unregenerate heart is a treacherous member (Jeremiah 17:9), and even in those of us who are rejuvenated by salvation, the heart can be fouled by wrong things being fed into it, and it is very clear that our heart will determine how we think, speak, and act. What is down there in the heart, whether good or bad, will come out sooner or later:
Matthew 12:34b-35: “…For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.”
Mark 7:20-23: And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”
A related principle I only hinted at earlier was fullness. Just as a full stomach ends hunger for food, so a heart full of other things stifles hunger for God. People make time for what they really want to do. Even a person whose day is filled from one end to the other with work and family responsibilities makes time to take meals, use the restroom, and attend to personal hygiene. If you are preoccupied with other things you will not have a hunger and a desire for God and the things of God, nor will you take the effort to make time for Him. This seems to be an epidemic in the body of Christ, particularly those believers who are products of westernized Christianity.
It is sometimes downright appalling to see the amount of apathy among a lot of believers today. Even those who go to church faithfully spend very little time in the Bible outside of church. They are content to go with “what my pastor said,” not taking the time to see if their pastor was right about whatever was preached on. Pastors are human. Sometimes they make honest mistakes. There are also those who, by virtue of having been made in these Christian factories called seminaries, are holders of the denominational line, faithfully spouting denominational doctrine week in and week out whether it really is Biblical or not. Doesn’t that matter to anyone? Does anybody care? Look, no one is suggesting that you go to church with a critical attitude, looking for faults everywhere and picking everything apart.
However, do not be ignorant. Have discernment and Bible knowledge! You cannot get it by osmosis or by wishing. You get it by reading and studying the Word and praying to God, as well as by spending time around spiritually mature Christians. And please use a reliable Bible like the KJV or, even better, the NKJV. I am not a cultist, those just happen to be the best translations, gleaned from having thoroughly vetted them. If you knew what I have learned about a lot of modern Bible translations, you would be shocked—but I am not going to share that information here. Study and find out for yourself, if you have been one of those who has lacked a hunger for God. It will be a good place for you to start changing your habits.
Not that long ago I wrote a blog titled “Hyperspirituality.” There are those who are so overly consumed by the things of God that in the busyness of living for Christ they actually miss the Spirit and become very religious. These individuals have taken a good thing—being disciples—and have gone too far, making an idol of it. They would benefit from some rest and relaxation. More often, however, there is found the believer who is complacent, just drifting along, lukewarm or even downright carnal. To start a conversation with them about the things of God can be an ordeal. After only a few minutes they get fidgety, wanting to change the subject to just about anything else. They want to discuss movies, sports, the weather, their jobs, food, hobbies, pets, and all other manner of stuff. There is nothing wrong with that per se. Have a life, but don’t let it take the place of Jesus Christ. Yet they do. Continuing to attempt conversating about Christianity leads to such things as being labeled a religious fanatic or being accused of taking religion to an extreme.
During those rare times when these deep divers into the world come up for air long enough to actually discuss the faith, as soon as you start laying the deeper truths of Christianity on them they become agitated. One then runs the risk of being called a troublemaker, a malcontent, judgmental, a fundamentalist, a legalist, a know-it-all, a cultist, and many other things. Expect to be compared unfavorably with those who “have been to seminary.” Discuss the unreliability of most Bible translations or the evils that have crept into contemporary Christian music and you will really get lit up. At the bare minimum you will get a contemptible rolling of the eyes, but chances are you will be hit with a lot of rebuttals and accusations. And trying to get people to discern the times we live in—cultural and feelgood Christianity have done their damage. You might as well be explaining advanced calculus to a Common Core student.
Praying with someone is not always a common occurrence. The best you might get is being placed on a prayer list, where you have no guarantee of receiving actual prayer. Discuss your problems and you may get a sermonette. On and on it goes. The average churchgoer in westernized Christianity is loaded down with apathy and Christian box-checking. No matter how much some of them claim to have a hunger and a thirst for God, it does not take long to see that they are self-deceived or else lying. I could go on, but why belabor the point? If you are one of those believers who are vexed with the condition of the modern Church, what do you do?
For one thing, pray about it. God not only has a fervent desire to see the lost get saved, He also has a fervent desire for an intimate relationship with His people. God tells us in His Word to pray always, and He seeks intercessors (1 Thessalonians 5:17; Ezekiel 22:30). If you are living for the Lord, you will definitely get His attention and have His ear if you pray about your fellowsaints’ apathy in the faith. Also, set a good example. We are not only witnesses to the lost for Jesus, we are also witnesses to one another as to how we should live for God (1 Corinthians 11:1).Whatever you do with those who are apathetic, whether it is rebuking them, encouraging them to live a different way, or whatever, speak the truth in love and, in keeping with setting a good example, use your influence to inspire them to be better Christians without letting their slothfulness rub off on you:
Proverbs 27:5-6, 17: Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful…As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.
1 Corinthians 15:33: Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”
Lackadaisical Christians may not actually be evil, but their slothful practices are, and if those you are trying to reach are not changing, then let them be. Pray for them, set a Christlike example wherever you go, but do not continue to expend efforts on believers who do not care to advance further in the faith, wanting to just drift along instead. Even if their slothfulness does not begin to impact your diligence, the frustration you will feel when you do not see results could cause you to become bitter and cynical, not wanting to help others anymore.
Do not lose the desire to help, but use prayerful discretion in whom you reach out to in the cause of waking them up from their apathy. Finally, even if no one else has a hunger for God, do not lose yours. Every day be a devoted disciple of Jesus Christ and draw closer to Him. Continue to grow in God and the things of God, being daily filled with the Holy Spirit. God sees your efforts, and He will reward you.
Galatians 6:9-10: And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.
