In a recent USA Today article entitled "God, Religion, Atheism, So What?" Cathy-Lynn Grossman investigates a trend in our culture in which people are spiritually apathetic.  She's not talking about atheists, who have decided there is no God.  She's not talking about agnostics, who have thoughtfully decided God, if He exists, can never be found.  Neither is she talking about Deists, who believe in a God detached and uninvolved from creation.  The people she writes about are Apa-theists: People who don't care if there is a God or a deeper meaning to life.  She writes of a 54 year old pilot who's purpose in life is to fly as often as possible.  She quotes a 27 year old 3-D animator as saying, "I don't want to change others and I don't want to debate my views."  She refers to a Baylor University study that found that 44% of Americans spend "no time seeking eternal wisdom".  Another survey found that 28% of Americans said, "It's not a major priority in life to find deeper purpose."

We've heard for years that Americans are getting increasingly overweight.  Now we learn that Americans are not only fat and lazy, we're shallow, too.  While this seems to be an alarming trend, I think it's really a reflection of a shift in people's candidness, not their spiritual state.  For generations, people have marked time in church pews just to get out as quickly as possible and head to the golf course, beach, or recliner.  Jesus spoke of people who strive to gain the whole world and lose their soul; People who are like young plants choked out by the thorns of this world; People who build their lives on shifting sand rather than a firm foundation of faith.

No doubt there are apocalyptic doomsayers who have read the article and see the end of human history within the next week or two.  This is a horribly cultural-centric.  While America may be becoming less interested in the spiritual (although I reiterate that this may not be entirely true) other parts of the world are experiencing tremendous revival.  South America is the most Christianized continent on earth.  South Korea, not the US or any other western country, sends out more missionaries than any other nation.  Sub-saharan Africa is the most evangelical region on earth... Ever. 

God is alive and well on planet earth.  He will have His way with us as He sees fit.  People may not want to seek after God, but God, like the widow in Jesus' parable who searched for her lost coin, is seeking people upon whom He can pour out His grace.  Then, when the lost has been found, the celebrating will begin.