The Importance of Indifference

There are certain things we care about and other things we don’t.

For example, I care about the Chicago Sky. Chances are a good number of you are wondering, “What is the Chicago Sky?” It’s the WNBA team here in Chicago. I have always loved sports and basketball has always been my main game and so I’ve become a pretty committed Chicago Sky fan. So much so that when they are playing poorly, I can get to the point where I have to turn off the TV. It’s not that I no longer support the team; it’s that my nerves can’t take it. I have to put myself in a bit of a timeout and just follow the score on my phone instead of watching the live action.

“That’s ridiculous,” you might be thinking. “Why do you care so much?”

To that, I will answer with this: I have not seen nor do I have any plans to see Top Gun: Maverick. OK, maybe you don’t care about that either, but all I’ve heard from people over this past month is how great this movie is and how you have to see it and how they can’t wait to watch it again. I’m not opposed to seeing it; I’m just indifferent. 

Indifference is a reality in all of our lives. It really has to be. We can’t possibly care about everything. 

Of course, indifference becomes a problem when we hold it in relation to someone’s pain, to injustice, to poverty. If there’s one thing we learn from the stories about Jesus in the Gospels, it’s that he was never indifferent about those things.

And yet, indifference does play an important role in the life of a Christ-follower. Whenever you or a group you are a part of have a decision to make, indifference is key.

Without indifference, the likelihood of charting a course that is out of step with the Spirit increases. 

This is a new thought that came to me through the writing of Ruth Haley Barton, a spiritual director and founder of the Transforming Center here in Chicago. Ruth argues that when we are facing a decision, we need to pray for indifference. In her words:

“This is not the kind of indifference that we associate with apathy; rather, it is the prayer that we would be indifferent to everything but the will of God.” (Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership)

Without indifference, matters of ego or pride or ideology or personal gain or comfort can easily cloud our decisions. 

Think about the last time you had to make an important decision. Most of us enter into the decision-making process with strong opinions and more than a little self-interest. Whether it is a personal decision or a group decision, by default we will argue from our own point of view. 

However, if our true desire is to follow Jesus in his Kingdom way as part of his Kingdom community, we have to move to the place of indifference.

Think of Jesus, in the Garden, in the moments before his arrest. He cared a lot about what was happening to him. His soul was overwhelmed with sorrow and his stress level was off the charts. He had strong opinions about how he’d like for things to go and, understandably, a mountain of self-interest. It’s why he prayed:

“Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me.” (Mark 14:36a)

He wanted God to take away the cross. And yet, through his sweat and tears he prayed the prayer of indifference:

“Yet not what I will, but may your will be done.” (Mark 14:36b)

Yes, we owe our lives to Jesus’ love and mercy, but we also owe it to his indifference.

The next time you or a team you are on are facing a decision about how to move forward, what might it look like to take the time to let the Spirit bring your heart to the place of indifference? The place where what you truly want is what God wants regardless of where that leads? Ruth Haley Barton warns:

“If we do not reach the point of indifference or if we are not at least honest about the fact that we are not indifferent, the discernment process becomes little more than a rigged election!” (Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership)

It is indifference that enables us to die to self. 
It is indifference that prepares us to receive God’s wisdom.
It is indifference that opens us up to the will of God. 

The next time you or I face an important decision, may we recognize the importance of indifference. May we have the courage to pray, “Not what I will, but may your will be done.”