Fear, Grace, Apathy and Idolatry and Our Response to God

Felix · Newbie Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5 Status: **Offline**

With respect to God, every person is subject to the interplay of these phenomena in one form or another. This interplay itself is an inescapable phenomenon. This may perhaps be confusing to think about at first but it is bound to be helpful to do so.

Everyoneâ€™s life is governed by one or a combination of these phenomena. This is the basis for a personâ€™s response to God and his or her sense of peace, joy, contentment, hope and interaction with other people. The interplay also drives a personâ€™s engagements. For these reasons, it is important for us to examine this interplay in our lives. To help with this examination, let me briefly define each of the listed phenomena:

 Fear is the emotion that is imposed or generated in us due to an actual or perceived external reality, event or causative agent. This is often considered to be a negative thing. With respect to God, some (Christians) understand it to be reverence for or towards God.

 Grace is unmerited favor from another individual. For Christians, it is understood that grace (in its true sense) comes from God.

 Apathy is utter neglect, laziness or callousness. It is generally abhorred by everyone but it insidiously rules many lives.

 Idolatry is the worship of anything but God. The majority of the human race is caught under the spell of this phenomenon.

Although the sense of peace, joy, contentment and hope may, in some instances, be considered as phenomena in their own rights, for the purpose of this examination, these are seen as the resulting state of being as a person proceeds through life. As has been previously indicated, this state of being for each person is governed by the interplay of the identified phenomena.

So, what is it for you with respect to God? What predominantly governs your life and state of being? What drives your engagements? Please think about this for yourself and comment on this post.

Let me provide some hypothetical examples to help us along. If, for example, my understanding of Godâ€™s grace predominantly governs my life, I will be grateful to God and I will likely be more gracious towards other people. If apathy predominantly governs my life, I will care little or not at all about God. Amidst a hidden hopelessness, my interaction with other people will be quite apathetic. I can go on but let me give you a chance to share. Please share your thoughts.

In doing so, please be reminded that this has the potential of becoming broadened into territories that are not intended. It is understood, from another perspective that the reality of sin in the world is connected to the listed four phenomena. However, the discussion on sin can be a subject of its own. If brought into this discussion, it will diffuse the focus to the point of losing the usefulness of this discussion. So please stay to the point, perhaps with your considerations informed by the reality of sin but not expanded to a discussion on sin and other matters. Let us stay with which of the named four phenomena govern our lives in our response to God and how.

Prayer-Soldier · Posted: Fri Jan 22, 2010 12:35 am Post subject:

Felix,

We do not often think that our path is lead away from the Lord through idolatry. We may not understand that our devotion to ways of the world may have exactly that effect. We may not pray to the idol of celebrity, politics, or a secular society, but when such pursuits lead us to suppress our faith so that we can receive social acceptance, we are separated from our Lord.

May the Lord be with you,
Prayer Soldier

Felix · Newbie Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5 Status: **Offline**

[quote=\"Prayer-Soldier\"]Felix,

We do not often think that our path is lead away from the Lord through idolatry. We may not understand that our devotion to ways of the world may have exactly that effect. We may not pray to the idol of celebrity, politics, or a secular society, but when such pursuits lead us to suppress our faith so that we can receive social acceptance, we are separated from our Lord.

May the Lord be with you,
Prayer Soldier[/quote]

Prayer-Soldier,

This is so true, thanks for adding this thought.

May the Lord also be with you,
Felix

nam-eno · Newbie Joined: Jul 05, 2007 Posts: 77 Status: **Offline**

Felix,

It was apathy that lead me astray. I was raised going to Sunday school, but my attention was held by the world. I occasionally tried to read the Bible, but I rationalized that I did not need to go to church to be with God. My religion was just between me and God and that was all that mattered. I was simply deceiving myself.

As I left home and was on my own, I had too many things to do and church did not fit into my schedule. Sin meant nothing to me - I felt like I was a good person and that is all that was needed. I didn\'t really understand the Word or God\'s message of love - I was just living in pursuit of my own ambitions and pleasures.

But one day, you wake up and you realize something is missing. Pursuits of youth are fleeting, nothing is truly enduring until you realize that life is not complete without the Lord.

As with any relationship, it requires time. Time in prayer, time in communion with others, time in study of the Word - and then, you realize that life is so much fuller when you reach out to the Lord. We don\'t know what we miss when we let apathy to allow us to wander away from our Saviour. We are blessed with His patience that though we may wander into indifference, He is merciful, forgiving and waiting for our prayer.

May peace be with you,
Nam Eno