By definition, a plague is a cause of continual trouble or distress. It is something awful, terrible, that just won't go away. It is not short lived, nor easily gotten rid of. It is ongoing. Catastrophic. Deadly.
Pharaoh faced a series of plagues in the book of Exodus. The Nile River turning to blood. Frogs invading his palaces, even into his bedrooms. Lice. Flies. Dead livestock. Festering sores. Devastating hailstorm. Ravenous locusts. Complete darkness. Death of all the firstborn sons of Egypt. Those were plagues of Biblical proportions.
Apathy is a lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern. It means you really don't give a rip. It's not your problem. It's not worth your most valuable time.
We are in a plague of apathy.
We, as a world and a nation, just don't seem to care. Oh, we might get temporarily worked up about one event or issue or the other, but lasting concern and interest? Only until the next thing comes along. Until the next Tweet, Facebook post, newscast, or rumor comes our way. Then that once-so-important issue fades in the distance.
If it doesn't matter still, then it never really mattered to us. That's apathy.
Consider the world. Lost souls. Starvation. Human trafficking. Abortion. Sexual immorality. Destruction of the Biblical picture of family. The fading of the Church. The rise of false gods. Idolatry. Hatred. Sin.
Did your blood pressure go up reading those?
If not, that's apathy.
These are also plagues of Biblical proportions.
Nothing is so desperate as the thought of a single lost soul, and there are billions out there. Many of those same billions are starving, being sold into slavery. Millions of unborn children are being murdered, and many of those the result of sexual immorality. God's plan for human interactions is being demonized. The Church is, largely, being pushed into the sunset. False gods are placed on Christ's throne and worshiped, breeding hate and sin.
Are those not plagues? Are those not causes of continual trouble or distress? And they are just the beginning. The list goes on and on. Surely Jesus is weeping.
Are we?
Are we on our knees in prayer, in desperation, crying out to our holy God? Are we wrestling with the destructive forces around us, or shrugging our shoulders? Are we readying ourselves for battle, or turning or backs?
The plague is here. Apathy is rampant.
God broke Pharaoh.
It took the loss of everything, but God finally broke the king of Egypt. I don't want us to be like that. I don't want us to suffer the loss of everything we have been giving before we understand submission to the One who gives all things. I don't want our sons to suffer for our sins.
I want us to be broken. I want us to break ourselves, to throw ourselves before Holy God and confess. I want us to break ourselves so that God doesn't have to.
Apathy is a plague, but there is a cure.
It is faith. It is zeal. It is the love of God, for God, with God.
We may be infected, but God has the cure.
Are you willing to take it?
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