The Danger of Indifference
Pastor Tan Thai · Sep 12, 2021
Preached on the 20th anniversary of 9/11, this sermon calls believers to abandon indifference toward the suffering of others. Because God is never apathetic toward humanity, those who follow Christ must live with genuine compassion and active concern.
The sermon opens with the age-old question about the cause of human suffering. The pastor affirms that while the Bible may not answer this question fully on rational grounds, the cross of Jesus Christ is the clearest evidence that God is never indifferent or apathetic toward human pain. Because God so loved the world (John 3:16), those who believe in Him cannot live with an attitude of coldness or indifference.
The sermon presents two occasions when Jesus wept: at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:33) and when He looked over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41-44). When Jesus wept over the city, He foresaw the terrible destruction that would come in AD 70 when Roman forces destroyed the city and killed over a million Jewish people. He did not weep for His own impending crucifixion, but out of deep love for the people. The two powerful emotions Jesus displayed at Lazarus's tomb, both righteous anger at the tragedy of death and deep grief, show that He is the complete opposite of an indifferent God.
The pastor uses the true story of the 1964 murder of Kitty Genovese in New York, witnessed by 38 people who called no one, to illustrate the syndrome of indifference in society. The sermon identifies several causes of apathy including fear, bitterness, loss of zeal, and selfishness. The story of Welles Crowther, a 24-year-old who repeatedly returned into the burning towers on 9/11 to rescue people, is used as a model of courageous compassion in contrast to indifference.
The sermon warns that indifference is dangerous because God despises the lukewarm attitude of being neither hot nor cold (Revelation 3:15-16), and because the indifferent person becomes the first victim of their own attitude. When indifferent, those around us lose their value, our relationship with God loses its meaning, and the fire of early devotion becomes cold ash. In contrast, Jesus, though knowing His disciples would betray and abandon Him, loved them to the very end (John 13:1).
The sermon closes with a heartfelt call to action, especially directed at young people, to come before the Lord and ask Him to change hardened hearts. Believers are called not to sit in darkness complaining, but to light a candle and become hope and comfort to those around them. The words of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, 'Did not our hearts burn within us?' (Luke 24:32), are used as an invitation for each person to return to their first love and zeal.