To the Christian who is numb with apathy,
How long will we plug our ears to the wailing of the oppressed?
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Looking through the news, at story after story, I often hit a point when I can no longer feel the pain, and sometimes don’t want to. It can feel uncomfortable and inconvenient, but we cannot turn away from the ache of this world when we hold the hope of Christ in our own lives.
The song “Hosanna” by Hillsong cries out to God to “break my heart for what breaks yours,” a sacrifice of numbness and prayer of courage. I agree that it is tiring to stare down the world’s injustices, that it’s easier to retreat into our own personal struggles, into mind-numbing entertainment, or into a self-preserving apathy. But as Christians, we cannot ignore the sorrow when we have the solution (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). We cannot claim both love and silence. Proverbs 31:8 commands that we “speak up for those cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed.” And activist Desmond Tutu adds that “if you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” Ignorance and indifference won’t cut it anymore, not when we have the weapon of prayer and the ability of action.
It is not a tantrum. It is not a phase. It is not a petty excuse to complain. The cries that keep coming up from the margins of our society are the result of an anguished and righteous anger. When we grow tired of caring, we receive the command to “not grow weary of doing good” (Galatians 6:9). When we serve a God who cried, who did not turn away from the sacrificial pain, who saw those on the margins, we must follow His example to feel, to offer, to pray, to walk, to think, to see, and to love, fearlessly.
To the Christian who is numb with fear and exhaustion,
Staring down the injustice and oppression of the world can be terrifying, overwhelming, and exhausting. Letting go of our numbness does not mean the misery will swallow us. Instead, those of us who are Christians are especially equipped to dive in because “we have this hope as an anchor” that does not pull us under, but rather steadies us in the waves of despair (Hebrews 6:19). We do not have to sit helplessly when the world calls out for a hope and justice that we have to offer.
With Christ, we have a unique ability to both mourn the loss and affliction of others and cling to and claim the hope of Jesus’ goodness. And I believe it’s not just an ability, but a responsibility and a calling. When the world says those lives don’t matter, that they deserve to die, that their suffering is not real, that their differences warrant punishment, we must combat those lies with the truth that God’s love is offered to all. When the world says to turn away and feel numb, we must resist so that we will “not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). Pray to feel the pain of the world and pray for the pain of the world. Trust in God’s hope and peace that transcends that pain.
Christians, we face a destructive and despairing world, but let’s not forget that it is not a hopeless one. “The Lord is there to rescue all who are discouraged and have given up hope” (Psalm 34:18).
This has been Part One, a letter to the Christian who is numb. Next week, look for Part Two, a letter to the Christian who is angry.
