The Instinct of Apathy: The Story of AbrahamChikamu

Abraham's Retirement

Abraham is most often remembered for his faith. In a world in which most people lived their entire lives within the same few square miles, Abraham ventured out across the horizon, fathering a nation as his legacy. It took faith, it took guts. Abraham went, not knowing where God would lead or what it would cost.

Abraham’s life was certainly not simple. God’s promise that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars was constantly complicated by Abraham and Sarah’s barrenness. They were approaching a hundred years of age and still had no child. That long test of faith at times left Abraham confused, uncertain and prone to apathy.

When Sarah formed a plan for Abraham to produce an heir through their servant Hagar, Abraham indifferently went along with it. Hagar gave Abraham a son, but it began an escalating feud within Abraham’s home. Abraham again seemed apathetic, leaving it to Sarah to straighten things out. Sarah began to despise and mistreat Hagar, who eventually fled with her son.

There had also been Lot, Abraham’s nephew. Lot had been like a son, and as Abraham’s closest kin, the inheritor of Abraham’s estate. But Lot had ambitions of his own. The growing conflict forced Abraham and Lot to go in separate directions. Lot took the best of Abraham’s land and settled near Sodom. Upon Sodom’s destruction, it's not clear if Abraham ever learned of Lot’s escape. The two men never seemed to reconcile or cross paths again.

By the time we reach Genesis 21, Abraham and Sarah had finally received that great promise of a son, Isaac. Abraham was old and ready to settle down. He planted a tree near Beersheba and sat down. It is symbolic. His life had been hard, grueling, and so often painful. But Abraham had finally reached what felt like the culminating end.

The long-promised and hoped-for son had arrived. We expect the story to wrap up and for Isaac to take over as the center of what proceeds. Abraham finally retired from the testing of God’s calling and the proving of faith.

Many men experience this withdrawal near the end of life. But it isn't always that way. The painful and complicated realities of life and relationships have led many men into this apathy. We inevitably come to realize that so many things can’t be controlled. So many things cannot be fixed. Life is more complicated than we had imagined.

And so many men settle into this apathy, contenting themselves with a small life of small little hobbies. Avoiding what makes us vulnerable. Avoiding what feels too complicated. Abraham had done it so many times when things became too complicated to sort out.

But God would not let Abraham’s life slip into apathy. We turn the page on chapter 21, and read not of Isaac’s life, but of one more test. God tested Abraham again.

How does the complexity of life lead you to apathy?