Apathy is the opposite of love
I once heard a preacher say that “Hate is not the opposite of love. Apathy is.” Since then I’ve often thought about this quote in relation to the problem of abortion. In the church in Australia, apathy is the most common reaction to abortion. This was illustrated when a group I am a part of arranged a launch of the work we have been doing toward a pregnancy crisis centre. Our group hopes to offer support to pregnant women, and to share with them the saving love of Christ. For our "launch" we planned presentations for guests to view, boards with information and prayer points, and even show bags for guests to take home. The secretary sent invitations to 41 churches in the Hobart area. Only five guests attended who were not either committee members or their relatives. Several of these were friends of the committee members.
At this time of year I remember what happened to me six years ago, when I attended an abortion debate at Parliament House. On that day, my heart was touched in relation to this issue. I wrote about this experience in my article Abortion broke into my heart. If God had not caused this to have such an impact upon me, I am sure that I would also be apathetic. Abortion is a very difficult topic to discuss and to try to do anything about. Just last week I was so discouraged with the whole thing, and so disappointed that what I try to do often turns out poorly, that I seriously thought about stopping this work. Shortly after that, God intervened again. I received a call from Bruce Coleman of Choices of Life. I have known Bruce for some years now, through his pro-life work, and our conversation reminded me that God is working with us. He does not give up, and neither can I. God calls Christians to love those who are caught up in this sin, and to love their children. They, too, are our neighbours.
Edit 26/12/07: Apologies for the fact that the links were not working on this post. I hope that the problem is now fixed.
Sherrin, don't be discouraged! The work you are doing is so valuable and important. It's wonderful that God is using you in this way to further his will.
Keep up the good work, and thank you. :)
AMEN! I am sure I don't have to tell you about the apathy here in the USA. I had the pleasure of teaching/counseling/working at a crisis pregnancy center that our former church started. I did that work for the first 5 years of its existance...they are now in their 9th year! Keep perservering...God will raise up the people He wants, to serve these women and come alongside them. God Bless you!
Thanks for your encouragment, friends.
Faith, I actually had the impression that apathy was not such a problem in the USA. In Australia, I only know of one protestant based pregnancy centre. In contrast, there are many in the USA. I have also heard that many churches do have some emphasis upon pro-life activities. Is this true? It is encouraging to hear of your experiences. Focusing on God really helps, as it is his work not ours!
Hi Sherrin: well, I should have said "in my opinion" there is still much apathy about abortion in the USA among Christians. Yes, we do tend to have many crisis pregnancy centers but....not lots of volunteers or people willing to give of their time to run them, counsel, teach, give funding, etc. The church the Lord led us to gives thousands of dollars each year to our local center (different from the one where I worked) and we do hear of ProLife events, etc. but...I still believe we can do more overall for the women in crisis pregnancies...meaning practical things...although I must confess I probably don't do as much as I should either....