As I’ve shared before, we take a bus every day to ministry. I listen to podcasts and music while on the hour ride to an from ministry. One of the songs that comes up often is Stubborn Love by the Lumineers. One of the lines in the song is “the opposite of love in indifference” and it got me thinking, so I looked into it a bit.
Elie Wiesel was a Holocaust survivor, you have probably read the story of his life (Night) in school like I did. When he was 15, he was put in a confinement ghetto, then moved to Auschwitz where his mother and sister were killed. He and his father worked as hard as they could, then were moved to Buchenwald concentration camp. His father was beaten to death, and Elie heard the whole thing but could do nothing to help him. The US Army liberated the camp on April 11, 1945.
Elie Wiesel went through hell. He saw his entire family killed, and could do nothing to help them. He was incredibly malnourished and his will to survive was tied to his father. He witnessed awful things. He survived awful things, and was very open about his experiences. He wrote 57 books, visited a bunch of talk shows, was a professor at Boston University, helped create the Holocaust Memorial Museum in DC, and campaigned for people being oppressed all over the world. He went through hell when he was younger, and wanted to do everything he could so no one else had to go through that if he could help it. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986.
The lyrics from that song is a quote from him. “The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. The opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.” Most of the time, we think the opposite of love is hate. The opposite of one strong emotion can not be another strong emotion, but rather a weak one. Indifference is defined as “a lack of concern, interest, or sympathy”.
These are strong emotions. Love, hate, faith. All of these would drive you to do something. Love would drive you to do something nice for someone. Hate would drive you to do something not so nice to someone. Faith and heresy both shape the way you live your life. Indifference however brings a lack of any action or thought. If you are indifferent about a person, there is very little relationship potential. They can’t learn or grow from you at all, and vice versa.
We shouldn’t be content with being indifferent towards anyone. That’s not what the Lord calls us to do. We are told to love our neighbors, love our enemies, and love our family. The Bible doesn’t say “love your neighbors, except that one weirdo down the road, you really don’t need to care about him at all.” Or “love your enemies and those who wrong you except that one kid in 5th grade that called you a bad name. He really doesn’t matter.” We are called to love. Over and over again, that’s what it comes down to. I love the song They Will Know we are Christians by our Love because it’s so true. We need our love for others to be so evident that by spending time with someone they wonder what is so different about you.
Every place we have been I put up notes and pictures on the wall next to my bed that have been given to me. When people send me encouraging emails or texts, I write out an encouraging line and put it up. (Please send me emails! They mean so much to me and encouragement right now would be much appreciated) I read lots of books, and I often write down lines that I want to think on every day. There is one in particular I wrote down and put on the ceiling so I see it right when I wake up and any time I’m on my bed. “Let your countenance make it evident you have spent time with Jesus today.” Sure we should spend time with God every day, but when we do does it show? Is it evident to you and others that you spent time with the Lord? Are you interacting with everyone in love? Even the beggar at the intersection you drive past every day? Even the person that butts you in line at the coffee shop? Even the person that cut you off on your way to work?
Evaluate your heart and be honest with yourself. Who and what are you indifferent towards?
How can you change that?
How can you show love to someone today?
