It is agonizing to read the first chapter of the book of Lamentations—Jeremiah’s pensive pleas—in light of the destruction of the city of God, Jerusalem, aka the city of David. The prophet mourns the plight of his people and cries his eyes out, confessing Judah’s sins and affirming God’s righteousness. The most heart-rending outburst in this brief book, sometimes called the “Wailing Wall of the Old Testament,” is found in verse 12, chapter 1: “Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?”
Jeremiah was torn to pieces with despair over his beloved nation’s destruction. The general public’s attitude though, as evidenced by passers-by, was indifference. What had happened in fulfillment of the warnings of God through Jeremiah—and many other prophets—had not impacted everyone as severely as it had him. Most people were willing to shrug it off, if it had not personally touched them or their household. The attitude of those left in Jerusalem seemed to be: “Well, there’s always our friends to the south; Egypt will surely come to the rescue; if not, we can always emigrate there for shelter.”
The magnitude of the major message from heaven to Judah had not yet sunk in, causing the broken-hearted prophet to bellow out: “Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?”
We live 2,500 years later. Most who read this are members of the Body of Christ, His Church; and we are affiliated with a local appendage of that Body, a local Christian church. Many believe that these are the perilous times of which Paul warned in II Timothy 3, the perilous times of the last days. Were we to step back and give an honest assessment of the “wellness” of the 21st century church, we might be driven to cry out: “Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?”
Here’s how pollster George Gallup, Jr., characterized today’s practice of religion by those who considered themselves “born again,” as reported in Christianity Today some years ago: “Comfortable and titillating, but not challenging.” He explained: “There is a lack of awareness of Christian doctrines of atonement, redemption, and grace.” Gallup further opined that “one danger is that Americans tend to separate church participation from their own personal relationship with God. We have a faith illiteracy problem. People are not solidly grounded in their faith, and therefore vulnerable to hedonism, materialism, and the new spiritual movements that glorify self.”
Gallup offered those conclusions more than two decades ago, and the subsequent years have confirmed that the concerns were well-founded. We have lived to see the age come to full bloom. But the question I want to raise is: “Who cares?” Much of 21st century Christianity, especially in America, seems to have blended in with the spiritual apathy that Gallup depicted at the turn of the third millennium AD.
A minister began his sermon: “I’d like to make three points today. First, there are millions of people around the world who are going to Hell. Second, most of us sitting here today do not give a damn about it.” After a lengthy pause he continued: “My third point is that you are more concerned that I, your pastor, said the word ‘damn’ than you are about the millions of people going to Hell.”
Some years ago, Dr. Paul Dixon, chancellor and formerly president of Cedarville University, told the story of A.T. Pierson, pastor of a large Presbyterian church that burned to the ground. Everything was destroyed, including 20 years of sermons. The church was forced to meet in a theater and had to abandon their long-standing “pew-rental” system. But, during that time, “common folk” began finding their way into the auditorium and, reportedly, more people were saved in 20 months than had been saved in the previous 20 years. Dr. Dixon asked: “What will God have to do to you?” Apathy, indifference, comfortable, club-meeting Christianity is hard to break away from.
Apathy is not only easily observed in 21st century church gatherings. It has been around for a long time. Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of India’s independence movement, reportedly began attending a Christian church during a spiritually restless time in his life. He discovered that the sermons were boring and the congregation not very devout—so much so that, at times, he found himself dozing during the service, only to find that several of the Christians who were in the service were doing the same. Worst of all, the Europeans snubbed Gandhi because of the color of his skin. He left that church and abandoned, for good, his inquiry into the Christian faith. He reasoned that if Christianity had not made any more of an impact upon those who were its adherents than what he had personally witnessed, he did not need what they had. Apathy. Indifference. Killers both. (David Watson, I Believe in the Church)
The Detroit Free Press ran an article with the headline, “OLD MAN LIES DYING WHILE HUNDREDS PASS BY.” It told of an elderly man who had fallen, severely bruising his head. The paper reported: “For 20 minutes an old man lay dying on the sidewalk of a busy downtown street. Hundreds of pedestrians walked past him. Some stepped over his body. Scores of motorists went by without stopping. One driver stopped to administer first-aid to the victim. And while he did, the crowds passed by, ignoring appeals for help. Finally, an ambulance arrived. The injured man was taken to the hospital. But it was too late. He was dead.” (copied)
The world lies crying and dying. Some whom we pass by regularly will one day die. After death, there will be judgment. For every being, the question rings out: Heaven or Hell? “Is it nothing to you, all ye who pass by?”
“For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10)
YOU and GOD 