The prison cell that housed Ludger Sylbaris in 1902 can still be visited today.

Sylbaris had been thrown into jail for, as some accounts report, murder, and he was awaiting the death penalty.

Ironically, when Mount Pelee erupted on May 8, wiping out the large population of St.-Pierre on the Island of Martinique, his stone, partially underground prison blocked the brunt of the pyroclastic flow, and he was the only person to survive the disaster.

Pardoned for his crimes, he spent many years traveling with the Barnum and Bailey Circus and became an early 20th century celebrity.

Irony plays on the unexpected. The police station got robbed. The fire station burned down.

What is ironic about the student getting an award for perfect attendance? He was absent the day they gave out the awards. True story.

In 2016, 70 Department of Health employees became ill after getting food poisoning at their annual holiday luncheon.

What’s ironic about the tree planted in the memorial garden in honor of George Harrison? It died. Killed by beatles.

My students have often come up with their own ironies. For example:

What’s ironic about the kamikaze pilot? He flew thirteen missions.

What’s ironic about the lighthouse? It was in Iowa.

What’s ironic about Maury Povich? He IS the father (they had to explain that one to me).

The person who invests your money? A “broker.”

Back in college, I was a topic of conversation overheard by some friends.

“Yeah, Phil’s a good guy and all,” my then-roommate had said, “but he takes that religion stuff too seriously. It’s fine as long as it doesn’t affect your life.”

Now, there’s some irony.

So it’s OK if you just sort of believe (on Sunday for an hour or two maybe)?

To acknowledge the creator (the best explanation we have for the universe both scientifically and philosophically) and sustainer of life — one whose attributes include infinite love, compassion, patience, kindness, mercy, and justice (of course along with severity, one who is to be feared) — should have no implications on how we live? On how we treat one another? On how we respond to this One Who Loves?

What is the religion of our day? Apatheism … um, apathy-ism. Or maybe apathyism. Whatever. My spell checker doesn’t flag any of those. I guess it doesn’t care.

We might do a little religious duty occasionally, just in case, but we want the freedom to live as practical atheists the rest of the time, pursuing pleasure, entertainment, an easy life …

But Jesus didn’t call his disciples with offers of free subscriptions to Netflix, new tires for the Audi, and tubes for floating lazily downstream with the swift current of a corrupt culture.

One of my favorite quotes from C.S. Lewis applies here: “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and, if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”

Of course it should affect your life. Every aspect of your life should be thoroughly influenced if you even begin to believe in this Creator.

So, if our faith is true, why do we put so much of our focus on grasping for material possessions, seeking mindless entertainment, getting angry when the snow plow hits the mailbox again?

In comparison, those distractions should receive our apathy.

We hear the call, “Taste and see that the Lord is good; how blessed (happy, prosperous, favored by God) are those who take refuge in Him! (Psalm 34:8),” but then we don’t look up from our phones long enough to even notice the banquet laid out before us.

Christianity grew so fast in the early days, a time of great persecution and hardship, because of how radically it affected the lives of the new believers. They found a happiness and a freedom that was not based on their circumstances.

Ironically, freedom isn’t the ability to choose anything we want. The fish, points out Tim Keller, is only at peace and free when it gives up the longing to live on land. One experiences freedom and peace and joy when we submit to our creator’s design for us and live accordingly day by day.

Frank Turek says this about our wealthy, privileged, prosperous, safe, 21st-century American lives: “Everything to live with and nothing to live for.” The result: social and personal despair, depression, and anxiety. The suicide rate has increased dramatically, over 30% in the last couple decades.

And the people of St.-Pierre on the Island of Martinique in 1902 had been given plenty of warnings. They didn’t expect the eruption, even though they should have known it was coming.

And those who have heard the Truth but ignore it as if it didn’t matter are surprised when life doesn’t work the way they expect.

That’s actually not ironic. It’s predictable.

Phil Cook is a teacher, works in northern Michigan with Biglife, an international disciple-making ministry, and serves on the Board of Directors for Sunrise Mission in Alpena.