In C.S. Lewis’ classic book, The Screwtape Letters, the Devil gives some advice to his nephew, a demon named Wormwood, on the techniques of tempting people. The Devil tells him that the objective is not to make people wicked but to make them indifferent. So he advises Wormwood to keep people from thinking about anything important, especially anything to do with the good of their souls, but only to be concerned about their comfort. Then he says, ‘I, the Devil, will always see to it that there are bad people. Your job, my dear Wormwood, is to provide me with people who do not care.’
And that reminds us that the path to spiritual decay usually starts not with overt wickedness, but simply with indifference. Jesus called it having eyes that cannot see, and ears that refuse to listen.