A first time caffeine user or one that has abstained use for an extended period, has a zero tolerance to caffeine. Caffeine is a foreign substance according to the body. This is when caffeine works the best, often described as producing the following effects:
1. Feelings of Euphoria
2. Extreme Alertness
3. Positive Feelings
4. Increased Motivation
5. Increased Energy

- Caffeine Informer

Just for a moment, please humor me, and let me change around a few words around...

A first time believer or one that hasn't gone to church for an extended period has a zero tolerance to the Gospel. It's message is foreign to the heart and the soul. This is when the Gospel "works the best", often described as producing the following effects:
1. Feelings of Euphoria
2. Extreme Alertness
3. Positive Feelings
4. Increased Motivation
5. Increased Energy

I just compared Christianity to coffee.

Is that silly? Probably. Just be glad I didn't start an extended metaphor where the lifelong believer is a hipster with a meticulously groomed mustache who rides his 1952 Schwinn to the local coffee shop every Saturday morning. (Shoot, I just did the metaphor thing (Also, that's probably gonna be me one day, so...)).

Hating Numbness

There's a lot of sin to hate in my life. There's a lot of missed opportunities and misspoken words. There's wrong thoughts, selfish desires, and evil wishes. It's just like the Apostle Paul says:

"I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do."
Romans 7:15

Now, I should probably hate my sin more. Scratch that - I definitely should hate my sin more. But one of the things I hate most is when I am numb to the Gospel.

I feel like it shouldn't be so difficult. Sometimes the phrase "the God of the universe was killed" sends shivers down my spine, but most of the time I'm too busy thinking about what I'm gonna have for lunch that day to care. I hate that. I feel like I should just be able to pray and ask to be overwhelmed and I'll be overwhelmed. But that's usually not how it works.

You see, I'm the guy who's been drinking coffee his whole life. I've heard the Gospel a million times and, yeah, if I go without it, I get headaches. I'm addicted, but usually it's only to avoid the headaches and keep my life together. I wish I wasn't numb to the effects anymore. I wish I didn't have to suffer from some sort of Gospel Deficiency in order to feel its effects again. I wish, I wish, I wish that every time I heard it, I felt euphoric, alert, happy, motivated, and energetic.

First time Christians tend to feel this way. They have an unmatched fire in their hearts for the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We can't say we're not jealous of that, at least just a little bit. The rest of us want that. I hate that I'm not like that all the time. I hate numbness.

Fighting Numbness

Our desire to avoid numbness should not just be a weak attempt to avoid it, but a fight. I've gone to many Youth Group retreats and returned a different person...for a few days. I've been brought to the lowest lows and highest highs during my spiritual walk, but too soon am I brought back to indifference. This is why I have to fight my indifference.

"This ain't a battle, it's a lifelong war." - Switchfoot

Too often, we allow others to fight our spiritual battles for us. (Christ has won the ultimate spiritual battle, of course). We can't keep relying on our pastors, youth group leaders, and teachers to "revive" our faith on some retreat. While there is nothing wrong with mountaintop experiences (one of the best moments of my life was a mountaintop experience), they don't sustain us. In order to avoid feelings of numbness, we must consciously fight our desires to remain numb during our everyday life. How do we do that?

1. Be in your Bible

It sounds cliche, but if we're going to be involved in this lifelong war, we have to have the necessary weaponry. Reading and meditating on Scripture by ourselves not only helps us understand the weight of our sin and the weight of glory more, but gives us the words to respond to the devil's attacks.

2. Understand the spiritual warfare in your heart

I believe one of the devil's greatest weapons is indifference. C.S. Lewis, in the highly thought-provoking "The Screwtape Letters", portrays the devil as commanding a demon to make people indifferent rather than wicked. What better way to lead people away from the faith than through feeling a lack of feeling? We must understand that the devil doesn't work only through those things that seem outrightly evil; it's usually much more discreet than that.

3. Know that there is nothing wrong with "holy anger"

Among my favorite quotes about the Christian walk comes from Allan Boesak:

"...A holy anger about things that are wrong in the world. To rage against the ravaging of God's earth and the destruction of God's world. To rage when little children must die of hunger while the tables of the rich are sagging with food. To rage at the senseless killing of so many and against the madness of militarism. To rage at the lie that calls the threat of death and the strategy of destruction "peace". To rage against the complacency of so many in the church who fail to see that we shall live only by the truth and that our fear will be the death of us all...To restlessly seek that recklessness that will challenge, and to seek to change human history until it conforms to the norms of the kingdom of God."

Political and social opinions aside, we have to recognize that anger can come from a place of love for others. A righteous anger is infinitely better than indifference.

4. Practice loving others

One of the best ways to learn to love others is to practice our love for them. And, of course, as I start typing this, "All You Need Is Love" started playing in this coffee shop (hey! Coffee shop! Already well on my way to being that hipster!). Although taking theological advice from The Beatles is probably not the best course of action, they make a decent point. Love leads to compassion, tenderheartedness, and that righteous anger. However, we have to practice it. When we see the effects of our love for others, we will learn to love loving more.

The end goal is not actually being "caffeinated" on the Gospel. It's impossible to always have that euphoria and positivity. This is where the coffee metaphor breaks down. We don't need to avoid sadness and pain, but indifference. We have to support each other and churches must not preach a watered-down gospel. May we always be looking to fight indifference together throughout this lifelong war.