Apathy Whatever Luke 10 25 37 Apathy Defined

Apathy: “Whatever. ” Luke 10: 25 -37

Apathy Defined ● absence or suppression of passion, emotion, or excitement ● lack of interest in or concern for things that others find moving or exciting ● lack of feeling or emotion ● lack of interest or concern

Quotes “Science may found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all – the apathy of human beings. ” -Helen Keller “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything. ” -Albert Einstein “Complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth. ” -A. W. Tozer “Criminal indifference” -Seinfeld

Apathy sounds like: “I don’t care. ” “It’s not worth it, it won’t work anyways. ” “I don’t have it in me. ” “Someone else will do it. ” “I didn’t notice. ”

Luke 10: 30 -35 “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him, ’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have. ’

Responses Priest and Levite Samaritan ● ● ● Worried about defilement Ethnic prejudice Bystander effect Self-protection Fear of failure Lack of empowerment Got his priorities straight Saw a person as a person Did it Acted in spite of risks Nothing to lose Took ownership

Luke 10: 25 -29 25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher, ” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life? ” 26 “What is written in the Law? ” he replied. “How do you read it? ” 27 He answered: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. ’” 28 “You have answered correctly, ” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live. ” 29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor? ”

Eugene Peterson “Self-justification is a verbal device for restoring the appearance of rightness without doing anything about the substance. ” The Bible scholar is a veteran in the religion business. He knows that a person can hide undetected for a long time, maybe even for a lifetime, behind religious questions. Has he been doing this all his life — leading Bible studies, asking probing questions, upholding the truth of Scripture, fulfilling religious functions — and never been found out? But Jesus finds him out. "

Luke 10: 36 -37 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers? ” 36 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him. ” 37 Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise. ”

Now what? Is this story just a good example to follow? Do better, try harder? NO! Because we know, at a very fundamental level, that God made the first move towards us, even if/when we didn’t care: 1 John 4: 19 - We love because he first loved us. Romans 5: 8 - God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Luke 5: 32 - “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. ”

Romans 5: 6 -8 Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn’t, and doesn’t, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn’t been so weak, we wouldn’t have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him. ~The Message

Recap and Reflection I don’t care. It’s not worth it, it won’t work I don’t have it in me. Nobody showed me how. Someone else will do it. I didn’t notice. Not my type of people. Not my job. Too much risk. -Who or what have I missed? -Where have I stopped feeling/caring, and need to start feeling again? -I just can’t seem to care, so where do I start? What’s my part? -What’s your truth for me?