“I Don’t Care…”
“Casting ALL Your Care Upon Him; For He Careth For you.” (I Peter 5:7)
How many times in a day do you hear people make the remark, “I don’t care?” Or, how many times in a day have you stated, “Whatever; I don’t care?” Face it, we have become a society that overly expresses our “right” to just NOT care! Even though there are many people who actually “do not care,” I feel that some people express this verbal “lack of emotion” in order to “protect” their true feelings in a matter; as a way to separate themselves or distance themselves from added hurt, concern, worry, or anxiety.
But, thanks be unto God, you will NEVER find anywhere in the Bible Jesus Christ making the statement, “I don’t care.” As a matter of fact, the Bible teaches us to “cast” (or place) ALL of our cares upon Jesus…For He (Jesus) CARETH for you. Truthfully, doesn’t it feel good to know that there is “someone” who actually cares for us twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week!
Early, early this morning, I was thinking about the various degrees of “conflict” within people’s lives; within family’s lives. I was reminded of the scripture found in the Book of James, chapter four, verse one: “From whence come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?” The Bible teaches us that we “desire” and have not; yet, we desire to have…” Have what? Desire what? We desire to have our own way and feelings in a matter… We want others to see things from our own perspective with regard to how we feel about a particular matter. When they don’t….conflict arises.
I believe it was the fast food restaurant, Burger King or Wendy’s that advertised, “Have it your own way.” Face it; we all tend to want everything our own way! And, when it doesn’t happen…it’s just easier for us to back away or walk away and say, “Whatever; I don’t care.”
Sadly, many; if not most, of the ways we, as Christians, act and behave are totally contrary to the teachings of God. We are all guilty…We seek out our own way. We get puffed up when things don’t go our way. We blame and accuse. We pout or lash out in anger. All because things around us didn’t go the way we expected them to go. Like the old adage says, “It’s oppression when our neighbor loses his or her job, but it is down right depression when we lose our own!”
Do you recall the Greek myth about Narcissus? Even though there are different versions, Narcissus became so in love with his own image that he refused to leave the pond of water where he could “gaze” upon himself continually. His obsession with himself eventually lead to death. Even today, an unhealthy, superior regard for ones own self can result in the “death” of friendships, family ties, or even negatively affect our jobs, vocations, professions, and even our churches. In other words, it is health to our own lives to “care” about others as much as we tend to care about ourselves!
In the field of psychology, narcissism refers to a person who has an unhealthy high regard for themselves and a lack of regard towards others. Research shows that over the past forty or so years the social disorder of narcissism has increased greatly among both men and women. Really?? Does that surprise any of us? Probably not…
In the early 80’s my twin daughters came home from school one day excited about a particular lesson they had done at school. Pinned to the back of their jackets (I have to admit that I loved when my girls came home from school with cute little notes from their teachers pinned to the back of their clothing!) was a piece of construction paper with the image of a little girl drawn on it. Written at the top were the words, “ME-OLOGY…The Study of ME!” As cute as it was…Think about it…Isn’t that where our society has taken us…”It’s all about me!”
Amazing; God remains “unchanged.” God is still all about possessing Love one for another…His words teach us to Care about those who are sick, poor, hungry, and hurting. He wants us to “bear” one another’s burdens…to demonstrate in our actions, words, and deeds that we DO CARE…He even tells us NOT to speak evil one of another…But, oh, how guilty are we all in that regard??
Today, we all may be tempted to say, “Whatever; I don’t care.” But, in actuality…we do care; we should care. It’s hard to “humble” ourselves before the Lord and admit that we care for “fear” of being hurt and rejected…Sound familiar? When God demonstrated His unfailing love towards mankind…He was rejected and despised. Yet; he endured the Cross for both you and me….It’s not easy to always love and care when we do not feel loved or cared for in return. I know; I fight with these feelings within my own life.
I am just so thankful that we have a Savior who is willing to “care” for you and for me in every situation; in every circumstance. And, I can “cast my cares” upon Him and He will always be there for me; no matter what. I guess we all need to care more…
Today, if you hear the three words, “I Don’t Care;” you may want to respond with these three words, “But, Jesus does!” I pray you find strength in His love and in His Care…
Remember, God Loves You!
Lin T. Rollins, Author
Break Away by Lin T. Rollins 