Do not let indifference creep into your psyche for it is the seed of complacency and apathy.
Amos 6:1-3
What’s the difference between these two phrases? “I couldn’t care less” or “I could care less” ?
A lot.
Think about each one.
One means there’s nothing I care less about while the other means there’s other things I care less about…
Personally, I know I’ve used both versions from time to time, but the point of today’s Tiny Words. Big Life. quote is not to rant about a pet peeve of mine, i.e. being a member of the “grammar police”… but rather to warn you (us) about slipping into a place where you “couldn’t care less” about important things.
Admittedly, there are some things that it’s okay to “couldn’t care less” about.
For example, if you’re a sports fan, you might really love baseball… but soccer? Nah, I couldn’t care less about soccer. Or is it, “I could care less about soccer.” ?
No, I think I had it right the first time… I couldn’t care less about soccer. (Note to soccer fans: I never played the game and I just don’t get it.)
Today’s Tiny Words. Big Life. Bible verse comes from the Old Testament. Israel is at peace and is prosperous. The prophet Amos is warning them that they’ve become too comfortable and have forgotten about the source of all their blessings.
There are many insightful commentaries on these verses. One in particular, describes it much more vividly than I ever could.
Charles Spurgeon, who is also known as the Prince of Preachers, during a sermon he preached in 1861, referred to the complacency in Verse 1 as “This is a carnal ease, a fleshly security; it is not the confidence of a man who is pardoned, but the ease of a hardened wretch who has learned to despise the gibbet. It is not the assurance of one who is on the rock, but the ease of a senseless drunkard, whose house is tottering from its sandy foundations, and yet he riots at full speed; it is not the calm of a soul at peace with God, but the ease of a madman, who, because he has hidden his sin from his own eyes, thinks he has concealed it from God. It is the ease and peace of one who has grown callous, hardened, brutalized, stupid, sullen, and careless, who has begun a sleep which God grant may soon be broken, or else it will surely bring him where he shall make his bed in hell.“
Hmmm… That sounds exactly like another country I know of…
Any ideas who I’m talking about?
The Tiny Words. Big Life. takeaway is this: Pray to care about things that God cares about. Of course, God cares about everything – after all, He made it. But here, I’m referring to the things that Jesus called us to care about… love, compassion, and serving others. Pray that God will rid your heart of an uncaring spirit that wants nothing more than what’s good for itself. Pray that our country will turn back to God and remove itself from the current course of self-determination.
And remember that God cares about everything you do and every thought you have. As for the Evil One, he has nothing but contempt for you. I suppose you could also say it this way… He couldn’t care less.
Amos 6:1-3
1 Woe to you who are complacent in Zion,
and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria,
you notable men of the foremost nation,
to whom the people of Israel come!
2 Go to Kalneh and look at it;
go from there to great Hamath,
and then go down to Gath in Philistia.
Are they better off than your two kingdoms?
Is their land larger than yours?
3 You put off the day of disaster
and bring near a reign of terror.