By David Faust
“They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him” (Titus 1:16, New International Version). What an indictment of phony faith! The apostle Paul warned Titus to watch out for religious influencers who claim to believe in God, but whose actions don’t match their words.
Phony faith hasn’t gone away. Two problems still plaguing us today can be summed up in the words presenteeism and apatheism.
Presenteeism
Absenteeism has long been a major problem in business and education, but a few years ago, a new word began making the rounds in Human Resources offices. Presenteeism describes what happens when employees show up physically but remain mentally and emotionally disengaged. Workers sit at their desks all day but spend half their time checking social media and working on personal projects instead of company business. They are present but not accounted for. Woody Allen quipped, “Eighty percent of success is showing up,” but it’s possible to show up without being engaged and productive.
Presenteeism happens in churches, too. Obviously, presence matters. Regular attendance in the church’s assemblies strengthens relationships, creates ministry opportunities, and provides priceless moments around the Lord’s Table. Good things (and God things) happen when believers come together out of devotion “to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42).
But it’s not enough just to show up. When the Bible says, “Let us not give up meeting together,” the point isn’t just to count attendance but to make our attendance count. We should “hold unswervingly to the hope we profess” and “spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:23-25). Physical presence is important, but we need to be there spiritually as well. Jeremiah greeted worshipers at the temple gate with a bold call to reformation because their hearts weren’t right. He said, “Do not trust in deceptive words and say, ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!’” God’s house was not merely a place to show up and create the illusion of personal piety. The prophet challenged them to “really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly . . . do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widower and do not shed innocent blood . . . do not follow other gods . . .” (Jeremiah 7:1-7).
And here’s another troubling term . . .
Apatheism
Coined by Canadian sociologist Stuart Johnson, this word is a combination of “apathy” and “theism.” Apatheists don’t argue for or against God, because they don’t care one way or another. To them, religious issues are irrelevant, unworthy of their time and attention. They have no interest in discussing God or matters of faith.
Apatheism can even afflict churchgoers, and this leads to some hard questions. Have we lost our longing for God? When we pray, have we forgotten we’re talking with the Creator of the universe? Does biblical truth shape our financial decisions, daily work, and interactions with others? When times are hard and death looms large, does our attitude show we believe in the one who said, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25)? Have we forgotten that “faith without deeds is dead” (James 2:26)?
The point of following Christ isn’t just to show up and be counted, but to grow up and be fruitful. Let’s live like we believe it.
David Faust serves as contributing editor of Christian Standard and senior associate minister with East 91st Street Christian Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is the author of Honest Questions, Honest Answers.
Author: Christian Standard
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This needs lots of Prayers and examples of others to show the Way