THE DANGER IN COMPLACENCY

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come!”

“Go to Kalneh and look at it; go from there to great Hamath, and then go down to Gath in Philistia. Are they better off than your two kingdoms? Is their land larger than yours?”

“You put off the day of disaster and bring near a reign of terror. You lie on beds adorned with ivory and lounge on your couches. You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves. You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments. You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions, but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.”

“Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile; your feasting and lounging will end.”

Amos 6:1-7

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Are you complacent in life?

Perhaps before you answer, you should look at the definition of the word:

Complacency (n.) - A self-satisfied state of negligence or carelessness, especially in relation to one’s personal situation.

Need a real life example?

Let’s say that you went out to get in your car and noticed your tire looked a little low on air. You knew you probably should get it checked out but decide that it was not worth the trouble, feeling that it will probably be fine and drive off. The next day you go to your car and look at the same tire. It still looks low but you think to yourself, “It was fine yesterday so it should be fine today.” And with that you drive off, still not having felt the urgency to check it or inflate it properly. You continue to do this for a week or so and as you are on your way to work, you hear a sound coming from the area of that tire you kept putting off. As you pull over, the tire is not only flat but torn and ruined. Now you’re going to be late for work and need assistance in getting your tire changed.

You see, there is danger in complacency.

Need another?

You read over and over and over again about how a healthy diet and steady exercise are critical to staying in good health. You know they are important and vow to get better at both in your life. You even made a new year’s resolution to do away with eating things you know are bad for you and becoming more active every day. The only problem comes with getting started. You know you need to eat right and get fit but each day you wake thinking you get started, you always seem to come up with something more important. You find yourself lacking real commitment and motivation to change. It’s easier to just continue to do what you have been doing, rolling the dice that there won’t be any consequences.

And then you begin not feeling well, sick enough to go to the doctor who tells you some bad news. You have very high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, and your blood sugar indicates you have diabetes. You start to wish you would have not rested on your laurels and put off what you knew was important. But it’s a little too late for that now. Your complacency has resulted in consequences you’ll deal with for the rest of your life.

Did I mention there is danger in complacency?

I could go on with a lot more illustrations but I think you have the point. It doesn’t pay to allow ourselves to get comfortable while carelessly neglecting things we should be taking care of. And while we have been only covering worldly incidents of complacency, we need to keep in mind that there is something just as dangerous, if not more so, in becoming spiritually complacent, a category many people fall into even if they show initiative toward all the other areas of their lives.

Think about a successful business person who has climbed the corporate ladder through a lot of hard work and dedication toward his work. They take care of themselves and enjoy the finest home, car, and amenities life can offer. On the outside looking in, it would appear as if they had everything but in reality, they were bankrupt because they left no time in their life for the Lord. They had heard about Jesus and that one could find eternal life through Him but never thought Jesus was necessary.

After all, they were doing fine in life. How could Jesus make things any better?

And then, this seemingly bullet-proof person, who has ascended to the top of the world in regard to all they have achieved and accumulated, goes in for a routine check up to find out they have cancer and that cancer is in an advanced stage. The doctor tells the person they have little time left to live. The person looks at all they have gained and suddenly wake up to the reality that they won’t be able to take any of it with them. Everything they had lived for would soon be gone. They die saddened and depressed because they had invested themselves in the world and not in their spiritual well being.

It’s a sad scenario that plays out every single day with the rich and the poor. You see, spiritual complacency has no regard to age, stature, or gender. It affects everyone all the same if they allow it to and as we see in our scripture passage from the opening verses of Amos, Chapter 6, the matter of spiritual complacency is not just a modern day phenomenon:

“Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come!”

“Go to Kalneh and look at it; go from there to great Hamath, and then go down to Gath in Philistia. Are they better off than your two kingdoms? Is their land larger than yours?”

“You put off the day of disaster and bring near a reign of terror. You lie on beds adorned with ivory and lounge on your couches. You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves. You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments. You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions, but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.”

“Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile; your feasting and lounging will end.”  Amos 6:1-7

Note here the Israelites had become comfortable in their lifestyles, secure and complacent in lifestyles that were underscored by unrepentant sinfulness. They lived in opulence, lying on beds of ivory and lounging on couches. They dined on the choicest lambs and fattened calves. They enjoyed the finest strains of music played on harps, drank wine liberally, and used the finest of lotions on their skin. Life was good, at least for the moment anyways.

For danger was looming and the Israelites were too content and relaxed to see it. They lived in such luxury and worshiped false gods and idols at the same time. They lavished themselves in finest of things but yet mistreated the less fortunate. They lived as if there were no consequences for their disobedience toward God but they were soon going to get a wake-up call.

God was sending disaster, punishment for their sins, and the complacent notable people of Zion would be the first to be hauled off into exile as everything they owned, all their riches and extravagance would be taken from them.

The Israelites were soon to learn the hard way that there is danger in complacency.

Friends, the Lord is sending a powerful message to us today and demanding that we all make an accounting for the way we are living for and unto Him.

Are we giving Him all the honor, glory, and praise as we should be?

Are we making Him the focus of everything that we do in life?

Are we giving Him our all just as He gives us everything He has?

It’s time to be motivated every second, of every minute, of every hour, of every day for the Lord and for the Lord alone, seeking His will and way in all that we do. It’s time to rid ourselves of complacency for the word of God in Romans, Chapter 12 tells us this about the life attitude we are to adopt:

“Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Vv. 1-2)

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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