The Apathy

waiting on the world to change

We started a new series at Fusion this week, entitled, Waiting on the World to Change. The title is inspired by the great declarative song by John Mayer of the same title.

Here are the lyrics to the song:

me and all my friends
we’re all misunderstood
they say we stand for nothing and
there’s no way we ever could
now we see everything that’s going wrong
with the world and those who lead it
we just feel like we don’t have the means
to rise above and beat it

so we keep waiting
(waiting)
waiting on the world to change
we keep on waiting
(waiting)
waiting on the world to change

it’s hard to beat the system
when we’re standing at a distance
so we keep waiting
(waiting)
waiting on the world to change
now if we had the power
to bring our neighbors home from war
they would have never missed a Christmas
no more ribbons on their door
and when you trust your television
what you get is what you got
cause when they own the information, oh
they can bend it all they want

that’s why we’re waiting
(waiting)
waiting on the world to change
we keep on waiting
(waiting)
waiting on the world to change

it’s not that we don’t care,
we just know that the fight ain’t fair
so we keep on waiting
(waiting)
waiting on the world to change

and we’re still waiting
(waiting)
waiting on the world to change
we keep on waiting
(waiting)
waiting on the world to change
one day our generation
is gonna rule the population
so we keep on waiting
(waiting)
waiting on the world to change

That song is very catchy, but it has horrible theological implications. And fearfully, I believe it speaks to the way a lot of people truly believe about the state of the world. Primarily, this series is for the generation of college students and 20-somethings, who like Mayer, are waiting till we “take over” before we ever contribute anything to society. The problem is I know many generations that came before this one who had the same concept but they actually never did anything at all. They kept on waiting and waiting and waiting. And they never did anything!

It is hard to do something if you are standing at a distance. It’s hard to accomplish something when you’re not in the proximity to change the world. My fear is if this generation grows up waiting for their time, they will never find it. Because the time to do something about the world is right now. We can’t wait. Are we waiting on the world to change, or is the world actually waiting on us?

In the message this week, which you can find on the Fusion Podcast, I talked about the apathy that has infected our lives. Here’s a test to know if you are apathetic to the world’s condition:

  1. When was the last time you honestly wept over someone who was far from God?
  2. What have you done recently about the poor in America?
  3. How often do you pray for those dying in Africa with AIDS?
  4. When was the last time you sacrificed (something that you truly felt) so that someone else could benefit?
  5. How many people are you in conversation with that do not have a personal relationship with Jesus?
  6. How much consideration have you given concerning the upcoming holiday season about what you and your family are going to do for the needy in your community?
  7. When you came to church last, did you focus on more what you could get or what you could give?
  8. When was the last time you gave financially to your church in a way that could empower Kingdom growth?
  9. When was the last time you prayed for God to open a door for you to share your faith?
  10. When was the last day where you got up in the morning and thought about God’s Kingdom advancing more than your own personal kingdom advancing?

Think about it. Are you waiting on the world to change? Or is the world waiting on you?