Change, Apathy and Us

About ten years ago, the relief and development agency that I worked for sponsored a young man from leading evangelical congregation on a tour around the world along with a few others chosen from all over the globe. The intention was that as they went around and saw the relief and development activities being done in the name of Jesus Christ in many difficult places in the world and how lives of people and communities were being transformed as a result, they would develop a perspective. That when they returned back to their lands and to their church, they would speak for what we today call “integral mission” , that the gospel is all about transforming lives in all dimensions : body, mind and soul.

One Sunday morning, pinned on the church notice board was a picture postcard written by this young, man from some picturesque location in Europe. He narrated briefly all that he had seen and experience d in his travels, and ended by saying that for all that the trip was really a waste because they weren’t doing any evangelism on the trip and so the whole trip was a big waste . I remember cringing inwardly seeing that letter; but shouldn’t have – evangelicals were like that only.

Around the same time, we tried to influence a VBS class in the city to include at least one session on a Christian’s responsibility in society; in looking at events around us through heaven’s eyes as Jesus would and then respond to them according to the teaching and ethos of scripture. The stony look that the organizers and teachers gave was unforgettable. Similarly, when I tried to talk about my experiences with the Catholic Church (mostly positive), my doctrine conscious evangelical friends reached for their Bibles and sneered at me disdainfully, if not snobbishly. It is difficult to exactly pin point when things began to change and evangelicals began to be accommodating and how this happened. But today, if you walk into that church, you are unlikely to recognize the church from what it was back then and what it has become now.

The general thinking of a section of the evangelical community is that because Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world (John 18v 36), so too our concerns ought not to be of this world. In our terms, it means that we should be having a perspective of eternity and all our efforts and interests ought to be directed towards that one end – that we witness to and testify among as many university students as possible so that through all our stratagems and programs should be directed to that end so that “by all possible means we might save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22). The harvest is plentiful; the laborers are few and more so, life is short, and so let us not get distracted by the other demands that may be made on our time and energy. So far so good.

But the counter argument that I would make is that such a view is an incomplete and even a distorted view of the gospel. After all it said of Jesus that He “went about doing good."- (-Acts, 10:38) and it can be nobody’s case that doing well is confined to preaching the good news alone.

Some graphic illustrations of the coming kingdom of God are to be found in passages like Zechariah 8 v (4-5)

Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'Old men and old women will again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each man with his staff in his hand because of age. And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in its streets.'

Isaiah 65 v 18-23 paints an even more detailed and more graphic picture of the Kingdom dealing with health, housing, agriculture, justice and equity. These and other passages describe the kind of world that will bring joy and delight to the Lord – a world He would rejoice over (Isaiah 65 v 19). If we know the heart beat God and know what exactly gives Him pleasure and delight , then can we in all honesty pray the Lord’s prayer about His will being done on earth “as it is in heaven” without lifting a finger to make this happen ? It sounds inconceivable.

It is not that today’s Christians are like the desert fathers who have actually retreated from society and civilization and created a parallel even if unsustainable universe. No, that has not happened. In fact today’s Christians are if anything, more worldly wise than their forbears of even a generation ago. But we have it upside down.

Conventionally, we are taught that believers are not to be “of the world”, even as by happenstance, they are “in the world”. Of course the Bible really teaches us that we shouldn’t “be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12 v2). But what has happened is that while we have often been transformed through dialogue and immersion in the world, usually our minds have not been renewed by the Word of God, they have been renewed by the world. Instead of us Christians exercising a leavening effect on the world and through our engagement helping to provide for the world of a glimpse of God’s Kingdom, we have allowed the world and “secular” society to transform us. I have deliberately put the word “secular” in italics because “secular” culture and world view is ultimately an amalgam of many different influences and its ultimate nuance is finally shaped by who has finally contributed the most to shape that secular world view.

I submit that the mean reason as to why Christians, particularly Christians from our kind of people , which is basically a middle class constituency shy away from any particular engagement is not theology , but apathy – for a classic description of apathy , see the quote attributed to Pastor . It is not that we have tried to change things and turn things around; we have not even attempted anything. Yes, we may use the scriptures or the teachings of our church and denomination to dress up our apathy and lack of activity the main reason for this is apathy, the typical middle class apathy. We are neither for nor against any thing; but just plain indifferent – and therefore by default instead of we shaping society, we are in turn shaped by it.

The one area where apathy and its impact is most perceptible is in the area of the renewal of our minds, especially since we have grown up in a culture where a “turning of the heart” is more prominently emphasized. And since our minds are not renewed or transformed, usually we make the same choices that any else makes; enter the same rat race that everybody else does and end up in the same careers and jobs that everyone else is in. Christians, because their minds are often not renewed are influenced more by the peer pressure of their kinsman than by the peer pressure of the kingdom.Most decisions in our life are made by discerning by God’s will, or so we say. But we seem to have atomized this. We have set procedures for knowing the will of god – we rely on scripture, circumstances, an inner “peace”, the counsel of fellow believers and by triangulating the results, we come to a conclusion about what we must do.

While these are all fine in their particular context; certain things are forgotten and we seem to try and discern God’s will in a vacuum. The primary identity of a follower of Jesus Christ is that of a subject of his kingdom and to then live according to the priorities of that kingdom. To give an example, when people choose to apply for and then accept the citizenship of the USA or Canada or some other when offered, they are first required to owe allegiance to the constitution of the country and then find their place in society within the parameters of the constitution. The criteria of offering citizenship are often the value addition that the new immigrant would bring to the country he is migrating to and points are awarded on various criteria.

But with Christians, usually the norm is opposite. We often make our decisions and life choices , even if made in consultation with others and in prayer , keeping out of radar screen , the larger kingdom picture and priorities and the value addition that we can bring when we “emigrate” to god’s kingdom. Often we make our choices just as anybody else would, and then try and rationalize them with reasons that might seem shallow to our own ears.

Will society benefit and the world become a better place to live in if it reflected the priorities of the Creator? if so, should it be a question to ask while seeking God’s will as to how best my gifting can best serve society so it more accurately serves as a shadow of the kingdom to come. Seeking to discern God’s only seeking my personal best while ignoring the Lord’s larger purposes for this world (the Lord after all did love the world enough to send His son for them….) where I may fit is self serving and shallow.

How then does one engage with society? Needless to say, one must begin by developing a Christian world view, the habit of as Moses would put it in Prince of Egypt of looking at life through heaven’s eyes. Of course how one does is that is a discipline by itself which ought to be part of all our discipleship programs. Even supposedly highly technical subjects like textile technology or architecture when studied with the proper perspective can help fulfill God’s will on earth is important and path breaking . You don’t study architecture merely you are bright, cleared the NATA exam and landed a seat; no you study architecture because it can be a tool In God’s hands.

If a secular, temporal state finds utility and value in the study of architecture, will not an eternal kingdom find it invaluable too? In the first decade of the 21st century, there are far greater career and educational options than what existed even a decade or two ago, but a far lesser understanding of what can be achieved and accomplished through them. If we look at the history of the freedom struggle; we will find that most of the leaders then were accomplished lawyers and barristers. If you asked them why, they would tell you why – they saw the study of law as a tool through which they could dialogue and discuss political change at the highest levels of the establishment and eventually negotiate for independence for the country. They had a vision for their people and for their country and could freely and openly articulate it. But today it is quite possible for a student to study whatever he or she secured admission in after appearing for a rainbow of entrance exams and the assuming one had the choice to pick out of one or more streams, choose the one which is the most materially lucrative.

Often Christians are reluctant to get involved in issues of society because we are so few in number or we will get involved in a few particular fetishes. A lot of people get involved when the Delhi High Court declared Section 3 77 of the Indian Penal Code anachronistic and deemed it illegal. Similarly, people get agitated when persecution happens. While this is right and proper, God is the lord of all creation (….the Firstborn and Lord of all creation- Colossians 1 v 15) and our concerns ought to embrace everything according to our education, aptitude and gifting.
I suppose that everything begins with awareness.

Let me give an example from my own work. When we began talking to churches and Christian groups that human trafficking and particularly the trafficking of minor girls and boys, (yes, boys) is the largest illicit industry in the world overtaking the arms trade and the trade in drugs by far, people didn’t know. Similarly, though we laud the efforts of William Wilberforce in outlawing slavery in the British Empire and those of Abraham Lincoln in the United States , not many will know that there are more slaves alive today in this century than there were in Wilberforce ‘s time or Lincoln’s time. Slavery was legal and in your force then, it is cover and underground then; that is about all the difference.

Of course, I have cited examples from my own context and experience in the social sector; but the point that I am trying to make ought to resonate anywhere. We in India are blessed to be living in a democracy, however imperfect; but the direction in which a democracy moves is determined often by sustained and informed lobbying and advocacy and debate. Informed decision makers do not just happen ; their opinions are shaped by those who have assiduously worked to shape them by furnishing facts and data and information. Even fringe groups do this ;

I have just finished reading a book “Red Sun” by Sudeep Chakravarty on the Maoist insurgency in India and he documents how Maoists have successfully used music ,art,literature,media and other forms of popular expression and married them with existing social and political realities to sell the idea of a communist utopia. Using this approach , Maoists have managed to recruit many to their cause ; and even those who have not signed up have often turned sympathizers providing crucial logistical and moral support. In many of the same areas , missionaries are also active but preach the gospel in a style and idiom that is often other worldly and dry in its approach. Maoists have emerged as thought leaders ; whereas evangelists are seen as proselytizers.

Typically, following awareness would be engagement and involvement; but most of us never get there. Even if we are aware – we read the papers, watch the news on television ; and increasingly the media is highlighting issues in society that are flawed and need fixing; life for most of us just goes on as it always has. This is where apathy kicks in and the kingdom of God and its values start receding as I retreat into the confines of my comfort zone. I go to Bible Study every week and dissect up books like Amos and the sins and shortcomings of the Israel of two millennia ago with ease. I artfully dodge the wrinkles and hiccups in my time and country. Israel of the Bible doesn’t require a direct response from me ; but if I extrapolate scripture into my country, my society, then I may need to do more and my comfort driven lifestyle may have to be abandoned. And that is difficult for most of us.

But if finally a Christian student or graduate is convinced that need to be engaged in society be it through art or media or education or banking or micro finance – society after all has more hues than the rainbow, what should they do ? Should they go and join up with some Christian organization trying to address these issues ? Should they join some secular concern ? The government ? This complex and debatable question.

As I travel around the country, I have often heard Christian organizations being described as regressive, reactionary, backward looking and slow to absorb new thinking and ideas and even slower to adapt them. And my own experience is that this is often true. However , it is also true that there is a dearth of good leadership in many or most Christian organizations. Many years ago, I know of Mr. Lalchungliana, a serving IAS officer , who left the civil services to come and provide leadership to the then fledgling Emmanuel Hospital Association; I do not know of many others who went to the IITs and IIMs or any of the other prestigious higher education institutions finish their courses and serve Christian institutions ? to ask a more pertinent question – how many student s who study in St Stephen’s College and particularly those who get in under the minority quota , finish their course and come back to serve in Christian organizations and make them more forward looking, more progressive , less ghettoized ? Probably very few.

And because we don’t want to perpetuate a mission compound or ghetto culture of which we already have plenty, we also of course need to be involved in secular entities of whatever kind that can make proper use of our gifts and skills. The thing to keep in mind of course is that the term “secular” by itself means nothing in terms of a worldview. We often talk of a “secular” world view , but actually that is nothing but the world view that is made prominent by the thought leaders of the time. In the Islamic world , secular world views will have an Islamic flavor; in India it has a Hindu flavor and in Europe , it has or till recently it had a Christian flavor.

So can we enter the secular work force and inject it with the aroma of Christ ? And in my understanding , the aroma of Christ is not just about not taking bribes, not being corrupt , not coming late to office and all that but presenting a biblical view of the world and its affairs which is born of a deep attachment and bonding. Many millennia ago, Jeremiah advised thus for exled Jews in Babylon “Work for the good of the city where I've taken you as captives, and pray to the LORD for that city. When it prospers, you will also prosper”(Jeremiah 29 v 7). If that is the level of engagement expected of captives towards a land to which they have been forcibly exiled, what might God expect of us who are citizens ?