Indifference - Monday Musing, November 22, 2021

Dear Church,

Indifference – lack of interest, concern, or sympathy. Commenting on our current culture, a ministerial colleague writes, “The challenge to our current politics is not extremism. It’s our indifference to their results.”

She goes on to say:

“The past few years have revealed that collectively… We are indifferent to corruption. We are indifferent to climate change. We are indifferent to labor rights. We are indifferent to a growing wealth gap. We are indifferent to caging children. We are indifferent to corporate greed. We are indifferent to lying. We are indifferent to war. We are indifferent to peace. We are indifferent to the devaluation of women. We are indifferent to violence. We are indifferent to future generations.”

Perhaps this cultural assessment resonates with you if you consider partisan differences, political divides, and a loss of civility among people. As a community of faith, I do not see us as being indifferent to the issues confronting our world, nation, and Commonwealth. There are, however, some issues that draw us close, and other issues that may not be as important to us. But this prioritization of concerns does not mean we are indifferent. We cannot be outraged at everything! We only have so much energy, time, passion, and resources to tackle the myriad of issues that we see happening around us.

I believe we are a congregation who cares, and in our own way, we are showing love by the things we do individually and collectively to help address injustice, peace, and care for the earth. We care because we cannot live with ourselves otherwise. We know we cannot win every battle or solve every problem in our world. The culture can be indifferent all it wants – we will make a difference by showing interest, concern, and sympathy and bringing God’s love to those around us. We will pray, offer our time, talent, and resources to those causes close to our hearts. In his second letter to the church at Corinth, the apostle Paul emphasizes the spiritual rewards for those who give generously to God’s work. As we bless others, we also will be blessed. So let us make a difference in those results. See you in church!

Happy Thanksgiving,

Darren