If you’re new to this blog, I’ve been going through the 70 resolutions of Jonathan Edwards and I’m getting close to the end of them. Resolution #61 says…

Resolved, That I will not give way to that listlessness which I find unbends and relaxes my mind from being fully and fixedly set on religion, whatever excuse I may have for it—that what my listlessness inclines me to do, is best to be done, 

Listlessness. I gotta be honest and say that I had to look that one up. It means indifference. An “I don’t care” attitude. He is saying that he won’t give way to that attitude. There are few things that are as toxic to the human soul, to relationships with others and to relationship with God as indifference.

It’s one thing to fight. Fighting in your relationship with God isn’t so bad. It says that you care about something. It says that something matters to you. God can work with that. He can meet you in the midst of that conflict and lead you toward resolution. I don’t want to say that God can’t work with indifference but it is a silent killer. You’re not telling God you don’t believe in him. You’re not telling him you don’t like him. You’re not saying that you don’t want to live your life for Christ. What you’re saying is, “I just don’t care.” People that are in this place feel numb. They’re over it. They don’t want to be bothered.

The way to deal with indifference as you find traces of it in your soul is to ask some questions. Why do you feel that way? Why don’t you care? Indifference is a lie. You may think you don’t care but there is a reason that you don’t care. Once you discover that reason or reasons, a whole new conversation will open up. There are times I don’t care as much about my relationship with God as I should. Generally it is when I feel like God is letting me down or that I don’t have a lot of hope based on my weaknesses or circumstances. The reality in those situations is that I do have hope but that my perspective is off. Indifference or listlessness is a perspective issue.

This is why it is so important for us to have people around us who are close to us who can challenge our perspective. We tend to take our own thoughts so seriously most of the time. If we think it then surely it must be true. Not so. Who do you have in your life that can help keep your passion for God white hot? There is a quote that says, “a friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you forget the words.” Who do you have in your life that can do that? Don’t ever take those relationships for granted and don’t let them go because if you’re like most of us…sometimes you will forget the words.