We usually think of hate as the opposite of love, or fear as the opposite of love, but recently my sister mentioned indifference as the opposite of love.

This rang true for me, and indifference feels all too prevalent in our world today.

The Bible says,”I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot: I would that you were cold or hot. So then because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue you out of my mouth.” (Revelation 3:15, 16) This doesn’t make indifference sound like an okay state!

Yes, there is fear and hate around, but I’d wager more people are indifferent these days, to so very many things. Do you care that the environment is being raped and pillaged? Do you care that church attendance is sparse?  Do you care about your job or are you just going through the motions? Do you care about those that are less fortunate? Do you care about the devastation of war? Do you care about eating right and exercising?

When you do care, that is loving. Love is nurturing and building, foundational and supporting. Lack of care lets things dwindle, deteriorate, atrophy, shrivel, shrink, fester, mould, and wither.

Sometimes we are just too exhausted by it all to care anymore. Sometimes caring feels too taxing; it can feel like things are too big for us to address. When you don’t know what to do about something, you may feel like your options are to be anxious or to disengage. Indifference becomes an inadvertent defensive shield that is often utilized.

Many things fit this category, like putting your head in the sand about our democracy being blatantly eroded to benefit the billionaires, or not bothering to eat in a way that is actually sustainable for the planet, or blithely acting like AI is a fun toy or fashionable tool, instead of life-threatening and dangerous in the many ways it is?

We ignore the rights we are losing. We pay no attention to environmental impacts. We disregard the plights of others. We put our blinders on. We go numb. That feels easier than taking personal responsibility for our individual choices in relation to the whole.

None of us can address everything, so we tune out and scroll ads, play silly phone games, or zone out in front of the TV. Are we looking for something we can care about, or just anesthetizing?

Just as “perfect love casts out fear” (I John 4:18), perfect love can reverse hate, and yes, cause the barren infertility of indifference to bloom into hope, enthusiasm, and positive action.

You can trust that Love will definitely win. So don’t unplug, or helplessly withdraw. Routinely notice when you are feeling indifferent, and deliberately swap it out for conscious love. When you don’t care, ask yourself what the loving thing to do is and then do it as best you can.

The malaise of indifference is to be avoided as much or more as fear and hate. It is just as detrimental (or more!) since is is so quietly insidious. We should become uncomfortable with it, disallow it in our experience, and nurture others past it.

Loving takes deciding to love and it is always the right choice.