Other People's Faith, More Precious Than Gold

Apologetics is an unpopular line of work. It's difficult on many levels. The modern church is largely intellectually apathetic, in some cases even anti-intellectual. The non-Christian world categorizes apologetics with activities like evangelism and missions. It's "proselytizing", "trying to force your beliefs on other people", etc. (The world has its own forms of apologetics, evangelism, and such on matters like environmentalism, racial issues, and sexual ethics. But they often aren't as critical of themselves as they are of Christians. They reserve terms like "proselytizing" for their enemies.)

In another post, I discussed what Acts 18:27 tells us about the significance of apologetics. Another passage I've found helpful in this context is 1 Peter 1:7. People place high value on money and possessions, yet Peter writes of how other people's faith is more valuable than gold. Apologetics can be instrumental in bringing people to faith or restoring or defending their faith. If the world opposes and hates you in your role as an apologist, and even if the church has little or no interest in your apologetic work or opposes it, what you're doing to lead people to faith and restore and defend people's faith is of major significance. On the day of judgment, I'd rather have years of faithful apologetic work to present than billions of dollars, palaces, and popularity. I'd rather have handled the intellectual aspects of faith responsibly than have to give an account for a lifetime of intellectual neglect. Our minds aren't vestigial organs, in life in general or specifically in the context of religious faith. We'll give an account for the intellectual dimensions of our lives and how we influenced other people in intellectual contexts. How will you do?