Moses presented the Ten Commandments around 1300 BCE. These were not the first list of guidelines in ancient history, nor were they the only list. About 400 years earlier Hammurabi, the king of Babylon, bound himself and the people he ruled to 272 statutes, bringing a new order and stability. For the first time, royal decree ceased to be arbitrary. Until Hammurabi, law was essentially at the whim of the king and could be changed by him at any moment.
Moses gave another set of “laws” by which to live. These laws were not the laws of Moses subject to change by any leader to follow. They embodied the mind and heart of God, irrevocable and unchangeable. These laws were to be written on the mind and in the heart of the children of God for generations to come. In this sense, the giving of the Ten Commandments was unique. They speak to our relationship to God, our reverence for life, and our respect for others and what belongs to them.
In the Decalogue, God teaches God’s children the importance of saying “no” (thou shall not) because the truth is one cannot say “yes” to life until one has learned first to say “no” –no to the distractions, the temptations, and the false idols along the way of growing up and coming into one’s own. The voices of our culture speak of unlimited choices and tell us we can and should have everything and have it now! However, studies in human development confirm the importance of “delayed gratification.” Young children who are able to wait, to postpone, to delay gratification live more accomplished, fulfilling lives as they mature and develop.
Several years ago amid a challenging time, I became acquainted with a spiritual discipline which allowed me to persevere, draw strength from within and mature. The spiritual discipline is called holy indifference and grows out of an entire stream of spiritual literature from Clement of Alexandria in the second century to Meister Eckhart in the 13th to Ignatius of Loyola in the 16th. This ancient Christian virtue of detachment does not resonate within our culture where one is encouraged to hold nothing back. When we express our feelings and opinions without reserve, we can drown in the overflowing chaos and hurt feelings that follow and become stuck in our self-righteous indignation. There are consequences to expressing unchartered and unfiltered emotions without reflection. Holding on to them and exploring them in prayer, with a trusted friend or spiritual director, provides perspective and healing.
Holy indifference is not the same as apathy and boredom which are defense mechanisms. The discipline of holy indifference is learning to detach oneself from intense emotions, to let go of them long enough to gain insight and to draw strength from within. Holy indifference does not negate our feelings. Holy indifference allows us to pause, take a breath and hold on to what is right.
Holy indifference recognizes that God’s world is larger than our individual perspective and invites us to live into integrity doing what is right despite our feelings. Holy indifference holds those overwhelming feelings back, thereby allowing us to mature through self-examination, healing and understanding. By the grace of God, may we learn the art of holy indifference as we seek to live with integrity and love.
The Rev. Dr. Blythe Denham Kieffer served as pastor and head of staff at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Springfield, from Oct. 1, 2013, to Oct. 1, 2025.
This article appears in September 24-30, 2026.
