I was busy at work last weekend, I am a sous chef at a resort in Northern California, and was abruptly struck by something I had observed while passing through the dining room. We have two very large flat screen tv's on opposite ends of the clubhouse. One is over the fireplace and the other is right over the bar. Since we work at a golf course one always has the golf or sports channel on and the other has local or national news. It was right on the tail end of the breakfast hour and we had a big tournament going on so we were quite full. As usual the tvs were on and I noticed quite a few people watching intently one of them. It almost looked like an old E. F. Hutton commerical where everyone in a restaurant abruptly turns around and looks when someone says, "My broker is EF Hutton and he says... But to my surprise, it was the golf tournament not the news story that was on that diverted the attention away from the many tranquil tableside conversations. It was a players golf shot not the incendiary meltdowns raging in the middle east and around the world against our country that captured their interest. For a moment it struck me as odd, then normal, then odd again and sadly odd at that. Now, I am not trying to downplay the importance of personal enjoyment and fellowship with friends over a great meal and good times on the golf course. But these people are usually at the course almost every day as they are retired and seasonal residents of the area. I mean they live golf! It's not as if this is a privileged event, on the contrary it's their lifestyle. These folks are mostly retired and worked hard for their money, raised their children and now are enjoying their golden years, but the irony of the moment seemed to be a microcosm of the world today.
We act like we don't care or simply have accepted the sad fact that other people's or society's problems are not ours and won't be either. We go on as if we have blinders on and run around conducting our lives as if we were a bunch of ostriches burying our heads in the sand. Certainly I am not judging these folks as the vast majority of them are very nice and good people. But this is a conditional problem that is seeping into our very souls and it's the greatest hinderance in my humble opinion to the restoration of our country and world in these very precarious and troubling times. You've heard it before if you've read my blog. It's the worst kind of malady and it's called apathy. Because of modern technological advances in communication and entertainment we are bombarded by images and stories of tragedy, sorrow, rage, catastrophe and wars all day every day. We have become shockingly numb and tragically naieve to their impact. Yet so many suffer and we are beginning to see the ripple effects of a fallen and rebellious world here in America. We are like the captain on the Titanic who boldly proclaimed that, " Even God can't sink the Titanic!" I and my family have been through enough personally in the last five years as most of you know to maybe have my antenna raised a bit more to the warning signs. But I am alarmed at how indifferent we have become overall to the world around us. The dark cold is seeping in and we must fight back! We have the most important election in probably our nation's modern history, severe and I mean severe problems economically, morally and ethically across the board both here and abroad, yet we seem to be as disenfranchised and disconnected as I can remember in my 52 years here on earth.
Do me a favor, in the middle of your busy and sometimes overwhelming lives, take a few moments and look around. It won't take you long to see the numbing side effects of chronic apathy. We need to get more involved, now, not tomorrow. Wake up from our false sense of security and start caring about our nation and the direction it is going. Our once great lamp is running out of oil and the flame of what we stand for is dying. Render yourselves worthy to personal and spiritual renewal. Committ time to your faith walk or beginning one if you haven't. Seek the One who has the answers to our problems and hopelessness. Become passionate again from your inside out and replace apathy with sympathy, empathy, and action. Most of us have children and grandchildren who are inheriting this mess and the dire repercussions of it's failings. Do something while you have life and breath. My wife and I have committed our lives to spreading the hope and glory of Jesus Christ. Because where man fails time and time again, He does not. Jesus is the seat of our future government and it will rest upon His shoulders. But we can do more and if we would walk in His light we could do much of His work and help others who are lost and need it too. God has plenty of time for you to enjoy your lives and He wants you to rest and laugh and fellowship. But the adversary to His kingdom is busy and satan knows his time is short. That's why you are seeing the rage of evil spread so quickly around the world. One of satan's greatest weapons is your false sense of security and indifference. If he can keep you from doing anything good or choosing Christ as your savior, it's as much a victory to him as you becoming inherenty evil. Don't let that happen to you!
Matthew 34: 37-3
As the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. 38 For in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah boarded the ark.
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