The Danger of Being Complacent

Old Mr. Webster defines complacency as “A feeling of being satisfied with how things are, and not wanting to try to make them better.” and when we associate that with our walk with Christ, it’s a little bit frightening. And may also add that it is exactly where Satan wants us to be. When we convince ourselves that we have reached a point of comfortable satisfaction in our faith, and when we feel we no longer need to move any further toward pleasing God and getting out of our comfort zone, we have lost the battle. And we have been deceived by the Enemy. When we get to the point that our spiritual life takes a backseat to OUR life, we have been defeated. Why? Because complacency is the most dangerous place we can be as believers. This is where we become lazy; this is where we become lukewarm; this is where we are deceived and can be easily overtaken by the enemy (the devil). Paul wrote in Philippians 1:21-22 “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell.”  This verse comes across as powerful, encouraging, and even convicting to the Christian. We all have good intentions when we start talking about growing stronger in our relationship with Christ. “I need to read my bible more”, “I can’t wait to get into the new Bible study at the church,” even “I need to pray more and have a spirit of expectancy,” but somewhere along the way we lose focus and our drive and all we have to show are our good intentions. At what point do we just take a step back and examine our hearts, our situation, and our motivation? Life happens, I understand that completely; our kids have SO much they’re involved in now, working around the house that needs to be done, prior commitments, this or that, the list goes on and on. One day comes and goes, and so does the next, and all this time we’re on spiritual cruise control, simply cruising through our daily routines while the hours fly by. Then there are those who are in hot pursuit, hurrying to get to the next thing and wanting to conquer the next obstacle that is ahead of us. Consumed with the taste of success, and the life we have achieved (or want to achieve) for ourselves and our family; all the while forgetting who has provided the very opportunities for us. Have we forgotten Psalm 46:10 tells us to “Be still and know that I am God!” ? There’s not an exclamation point on the end of that sentence for no reason. I believe God was trying o get our attention and realize that He IS in control!! So many times we also tend to point our fingers toward other things and blame other people for making us so busy, but, Galatians 6:5 tells us clearly “For each one shall bear his own load.” We have become complacent. Many have, it’s not just a select few. Sometimes we have become so complacent in the fact that we are complacent! We listen to the devil as he tries to remind us that we are just so busy and we have to get this done or that done, that we simply do not have time for the “church thing”. “We’re doing just fine the way we are.” What is it about our walk with Christ that we feel we can put it on the back-burner? What is it about our salvation that we feel like tomorrow is the perfect day (and then all our tomorrow turn into another tomorrow)? We have lost motivation, as well as our sight of what should be the driving force of our lives. For me, being lukewarm and being spit out of God’s mouth is not something that I’m exactly striving for (Rev. 3). Lou Holtz once said, “Ability is what we are capable of doing, motivation determines what we do, and attitude determines how well we do it.” God gives us the ability, with his power and guidance, to do anything – Philippians 4:13. It seems many times as though many of us choose to be complacent and allow our faith to be stagnant, and let our own agendas become the priority over strengthening our faith in Christ. Take a moment to step back. Then take a look at your priorities and desires. All of these factor in on our complacency in our Christian walk, or in our thriving Christian life. It’s up to you and I, to fight our complacency, find our motivation, adjust our attitude, and give Christ first place in our lives. Be compelled to worship, be driven to serve, and eager to work toward the life that God has called us to live. And do it all, for HIS glory!!!


One Response to “The Danger of Being Complacent”

  1. Lora Taylor says:

    I really enjoyed reading this today at 830 am. I would like to get more teachings from you in the future. I know that The Lord Jesus Christ lead me to this today.

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