Apathy is defined as “Lack of interest or concern, especially regarding matters of general importance or appeal; indifference. Lack of emotion or feeling; impassiveness” (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language). Helen Keller once said, “We may have found a cure for most evils; but we have found no remedy for the worst of them all — the apathy of human beings.”

It is true that many people have an apathetic attitude toward some important issues in our society. Such has always been the case. But far worse is seeing those who claim to be Christians apathetic towards the cause of Christ. Yet that is what we see with many in the body of Christ today. They think much about the affairs of the world, but when it comes down to the cause of Christ, precious little thought is given. Without question, the danger of apathy within the borders of our Lord’s church is real and threatening. Here are some of the dangers of apathy.

It causes indifference towards the church

Do you have an interest in the church? Too many Christians really don’t. There are many who attend a local church somewhere, but they don’t feel very strongly about that local church. They don’t care if the church grows. They don’t care much about the way services are conducted. They care even less about the work the local church is doing. They don’t even care a whole lot about the people who make up the local churches, i.e. their own brothers and sisters in Christ. Does that describe you? Or do you have strong feelings about the direction in which this local church is going? Are you willing to help it reach its goals? Are you actively involved in helping this church to be the best it can be? The answers you give to these questions should tell you if you are apathetic towards this church. We should all realize that apathy can kill a local church. And even if it doesn’t kill it, if enough members are apathetic towards it, it will paralyze the local church and greatly hinder its efficacy. Also, it will stop you from being the kind of servant that Christ wants you to be, and even worse, it will put your soul in danger.

It causes indifference towards reaching the lost

The most important work of a local church is reaching the lost with the gospel. We all have an obligation in this area. God has entrusted us as Christians with the word of God and He expects us to be good stewards of it. He expects us to teach as many people as we can, but teaching the gospel to the lost takes work and determination. It doesn’t happen by accident. Not too many people come to us to hear the gospel; we must go to them (Matthew 28:19). Only those who have a strong interest in the lost souls around them will put forth the effort to save them. Apathy stops evangelism in its tracks. This might be the greatest tragedy of apathy of all. Thousands of souls are lost right now, many of whom will die in their sins and spend eternity in hell. Does that bother you? Don’t be apathetic towards the lost. The stakes are too high. Their souls, as well as your own, stands in the balance. “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:2).

It causes indifference towards righteousness

Righteousness has to do with doing right. Those who determine to please God do what is right. It is not a complicated issue. God hasn’t made doing right something that is out of our reach. We can all do what is right in the sight of God because He has told us what to do, i.e., how to live, and He has given us the ability to do it. The only thing left is to just to it. Those who care enough about God will participate in the doing of righteousness (1 John 2:29; 3:7). Those who are apathetic simply won’t. They don’t care enough about pleasing God to put forth the energy necessary to do what is right, or to at least try to do what is right. That is the sad thing about apathy. Usually those apathetic towards God are more interested in pleasing self than pleasing God (2 Timothy 3:2-4). Ironically, when they pursue that course, they really hurt themselves the most. That’s one of the dangers of apathy.