Proverbs 1:32, “…Don’t you see what happens, you simpletons, you idiots? Carelessness kills: COMPLACENCY IS MURDER…” (MSG).
A friend of mine had a ringside seat on a family of birds. They decided to nest under the roof on the porch. The fun part was watching the birth and development of those baby birds. My friend got to see them hatching out and then settling down into their nest. They all fit very nicely in there – AT FIRST! See, Mama Bird kept filling their open mouths with more and more food, and the little birdies didn’t stay little for very long! THEY STRETCHED AND THE NEST SHRUNK! As it got increasingly crowded, each baby did more and more wiggling around to kind of keep his position in the nest. Then they feathered out, and they forgot about all of them sitting in the nest comfortably ever again! They began to perch on the edges of the nest until they were pushed off the edge by their siblings in a battle for whatever food Mama brought. One by one, as crowding pushed those little birds to the edge – and then over the edge – THEY WERE FORCED WITH THE DECISION TO EITHER FLY OR DIE! They decided to fly! However, the last nester stayed in the nest for another full week, being fed as an only child by Mama Bird. Finally, though, Mama Bird must have gotten disgusted with her nest-addicted child. So, she quit feeding him! First, there was a lot of squawking and fussing, and then he even abandoned the nest to finally touch the sky!
“One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar.” (Helen Keller).
We all know what those baby birds must discover – that they weren’t made to just hunker down in their comfortable nest until complacency finally kills them! AND NEITHER ARE WE! “The spirit that does not soar is destined to grovel.” (Benjamin Disraeli). AND CERTAINLY, OUR GOD DIDN’T GO THROUGH GUARDS, GRAVES, AND GOLGOTHA, JUST FOR US TO GROVEL ON THE GROUND! You see, those birds are DESTINED to leave where it’s safe so they can finally soar, AND SO ARE WE!
Mike Apicello said it best: “Complacency is our worst enemy.”
One of the definitions I found interesting about the word ‘complacency’ is: “to be pleased with oneself or one’s merits, advantages, situation, and often without awareness of some potential danger to being self-satisfied.” Did you catch that? ‘complacency’ makes you so comfortable in a situation that you don’t even realize that DANGER is lurking nearby! When you become ‘complacent’ you let your guard down; your convictions are easily compromised; your sensitivity wanes; your discernment is weakened; your expectations are lowered; your high standards fall low, you negotiate with the choices and consequences of sin, and the things and people you ought to accept or reject become so entwined that your judgment is faulty!
The Bible clearly warns us about the DANGERS of ‘Complacency’:
“…Fools are DESTROYED by their own COMPLACENCY.” (Proverbs 1:32 NLT);
Zephaniah 1:12 should really pierce your ‘COMPLACENCY’: “…On Judgment Day, I’ll search through every closet and alley in Jerusalem. I’LL FIND AND PUNISH THOSE WHO ARE SITTING IT OUT, FAT AND LAZY, amusing themselves and TAKING IT EASY, Who think, ‘God doesn’t do anything, good or bad. He isn’t involved, so neither are we.’ But just wait. They’ll lose everything they have, money and houses, and land. They’ll build a house and never move in. They’ll plant vineyards and never taste the wine.” (MSG).
And of course, the book of Revelation brings it home: “I know you inside and out and find little to my liking. You’re not cold, you’re not hot—far better to be either cold or hot! YOU’RE STALE. YOU’RE STAGNANT. YOU MAKE ME WANT TO VOMIT. You brag, ‘I’m rich, I’ve got it made, I need nothing from anyone,’ oblivious that in fact, you’re a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless.” (3:15 MSG).
Yes, ’COMPLACENCY’ will cost you BIG! WHICH IS WHY GOD LOVES US ENOUGH TO NUDGE US OUT OF THE NEST!
Your Lord Is Trying To Move You Into A New Season Of Your Life Where You Can Make A Far Greater Difference Than You’ve Ever Made Before! But You’ll Miss It If You Insist On Staying Where It’s Safe! Financially Safe, Geographically Safe, Occupationally Safe, Where It’s Methodologically Safe, Socially Safe, Emotionally Safe, Mentally Safe, Spiritually Safe. Complacency Is Everywhere. Our Churches Are Infected With It. Our ministries are hindered by it. Our passions are dampened by complacency. Complacency describes the state of so many. They are complacent in their work, relationships, and ambitions. All without realizing that they are headed toward destruction. Complacent Christians are a win for the Devil. DON’T LET COMFORTABILITY, CARELESSNESS AND COMPLACENCY KILL YOUR CALLING!
Read His Description of His loving plan for our lives: (Deuteronomy 32:10-11 ). The New Living Translation reads like this: “He found them in a desert land, in an empty, howling wasteland. He surrounded them and watched over them; he guarded them as he would guard his own eyes. LIKE AN EAGLE THAT ROUSES HER CHICKS and hovers over her young, so he spread his wings to take them up and carried them safely on his pinions.” (NLT). I love that word ’rouses’, it means: “to bring or come out of sleep; to awaken or wake up; to bring out of inactivity; to excite or provoke.” THAT’S WHAT OUR LOVING FATHER DOES FOR US! He ‘rouses’ us, because HE LOVES US TOO MUCH TO LET US SLEEP THROUGH OUR PURPOSE; BECOME IMMOBILE AND INACTIVE IN OUR CALLING; BORED WITH OUR GIFTS OR DULLED IN OUR DESIRE TO FULFILL OUR DESTINY!
Not to mention our Father also rouses us because He knows the enemy desires that we remain comfortably asleep! 1 Peter 5:8-11, “Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You are not the only ones plunged into these challenging times. It is the same with Christians all over the world. So, keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering will not last forever. It will not be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are! —will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does.” (MSG)
The mother eagle removes all the cushioning in her nest, and that leaves her eaglets living on just the rocks and the sticks underneath it! WHICH IS EXTREMELY UNCOMFORTABLE! The stirring of that nest leads to their willingness to leave the nest where they had been so comfortable, and ultimately to take to the sky. Think about it, maybe your nest isn’t quite as COMFY as it once was. Things are stirring that use to be still and changing where they used to be quite COMFORTABLE, remaining the same. In your environment and in your heart there’s this gnawing RESTLESSNESS that seems to say, “GOD’S GOT MORE FOR YOU THAN THIS”! Well, He does, and He is making you RESTLESS for it because RESTLESSNESS always precedes a great work of God! Your Lord is trying to move you into a new season of your life where you can make a far greater difference than you have ever made before!
He’s NUDGING YOU OUT OF THE NEST so you can Soar to the place where: “His blessings overtake you; soar till you’re blessed in the city and the field; soar till the fruit of your body is blessed; soar till the fruit of your ground is blessed; soar till the fruit of your cattle is blessed; soar till your basket and store are blessed; soar till your blessed coming in and going out; soar till your enemies that rose up against you are smitten before your face; soar till those that came at you one way, flee from you seven ways; soar till your storehouses are filled; soar till everything your hands touch prosper; soar till He blesses the land He gave you; soar till he establishes you as His holy people; soar till all the people of the earth are afraid of you; soar till He makes your goods plenty; soar till He opens His good treasure to you, rains on your land in season and blesses the work of your hands; soar till He makes you the lender and not the borrower; soar till He makes you the head; soar till He makes you above only”! (Gleaned from Deuteronomy 28:1-14).
HE’S NUDGING YOU OUT OF THE NEST, NOT SO YOU CAN FALL, BUT SO YOU CAN FINALLY FLY!
But you will miss it if you insist on staying where it’s safe! Financially safe, geographically safe, occupationally safe, where it’s methodologically safe, socially safe, emotionally safe, mentally safe, and spiritually safe.
AW Tozer, a biblical teacher states like this complacency is easy and it is the enemy of spiritual growth. There are several Biblical references we see on how complacent the people were, for example Lot who had a complacent life, in the land of Sodom and Gomorrah, he agreed on to give his daughters to adultery. Then we see about King David who was complacent in his Christian life, where he being a king knowing the truth committed adultery with Bathsheba and send to kill Uriah. The issue of complacency comes to highlight in our Christian lives when we face a situation, but today let me ask you how much are you investing in your Christian lives to avoid complacency. How much time of the day do you invest in reading the Bible and in meditation? How much time you invest in prayer to God? Our Christian life should be a life of relationship to God that grows every day. How do you expect your Christian lives to be successful if you have no investment in your Christian lives? And here is where we see the problem of complacency in Christian lives.
The summary of all this we can evaluate that we see how these characters and the other such people took their Christian life very leniently. So according to the Bible we can conclude that complacency is when the believer has reached a point of satisfaction in which he/ she becomes comfortable in their faith and don’t feel the need to move forward in their Christian life and SIN slowly starts to influence in his or her Christian life.
Complacency is everywhere. Our churches are infected with it. Our ministries are hindered by it. Our passions are dampened by complacency.
Complacency is the feeling of self-satisfaction without knowledge or awareness of the dangers that are lurking or the deficiencies lurking within oneself. Complacency describes the state of so many. They are complacent in their work, relationships, and ambitions. All without realizing that they are headed toward destruction. So many have not thought through where the drifting through life is taking them, and the answer is nowhere good.
Complacency is dangerous because it is easy. All you must do is sit back and go with the flow. To go against the flow requires work and conflict might be involved. To be complacent is to get along. Complacency does not require discipline. It doesn’t require accountability. It doesn’t require action. And because of that it is all too often appealing to too many of us. But we can’t be complacent. We are commanded to discipline, action, and accountability. We are commanded to watch ourselves and our doctrine closely. Hebrews 2:1 urges us “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” We need to pay much closer attention to what we know to be true so we can live accordingly and not be in a complacent drift.
This is personal. You either are growing closer to Christ and maturing in His ways or you are drifting away. This means we cannot be complacent in our devotional life or our spiritual disciplines. We must work at them and be in the Word and be applying the truth to our lives every single day. Look around the church and you will see many believers complacent in their spiritual growth.
They believe and they try to live it out and are satisfied with that. But we are called too much more. We are called to be conformed to the image of the Son. We are called to strive with all of God’s might working inside of us to become increasingly like Christ. That does not sound like a complacent attitude or a complacent walk with Christ. It is Paul saying he is pressing on. It is the saint falling to her knees in prayer every day. It is the bible worn out from our frequent handling. It is the life changed by grace that is now lived out for others.
This is relational. Our society trains us to be complacent in how others live. “You do you and I will do me” is the motto of a whole generation. But the gospel does not allow us to be complacent in relationships. We don’t let relationships just drift along, we pursue people for Christ, and we help one another be build up in Christ. This means we hold our brothers and sisters accountable. We seek to be held accountable by our brothers and sisters. We want to stumble together toward Christ in all we do. This is not a complacent community by God’s vibrant loving community.
This is worship. We are not complacent to sit back and be presented at a worship service. We want to be involved and experience the worship service. This does not necessarily mean any certain movement on our part or look the same for everyone. But it does involve the congregation not being passive but active participants. We are not complacent consumers but active worshippers.
This is evangelical. We are not complacent anymore to watch people head toward hell and do nothing about it. We pray, we share, we go, we love, and we trust God is working in those around us to bring them to faith. Too often Christians can be complacent with people’s eternity, and we can no longer live in such a way.
Complacent Christians are a win for the Devil. So, throw off complacency and follow Christ.
LOOK AT IT THIS WAY: Abraham Would Never Have Discovered God’s Amazing Plans For His Life Unless He Was first Willing To LEAVE The SAFETY And Prosperity Of A familiar and secure place! The Disciples Would Have Always Been Just Another Bunch Of Fishermen Unless They Had Been Willing To Abandon The Security Of Their Career For The Call Of Jesus! Noah Would Have Never Reaped The Blessings From Obediently Building The Ark if he waited comfortably for God to send the rain before he read the blueprints! Ruth would have missed Boaz if she remained under Naomi’s arms instead of obeying Naomi’s instructions to lay at his feet until he arose! Deborah Would Have No Song To Sing If she sat back complacently and told Barack, just go on without me, you got this! If Mary Waited For The Plan Of God To Make Sense To Everybody Around Her Before She stepped out and made the bold declaration, let it be to me as you have spoken, she would have missed out on being the mother of Jesus! Peter could never have known what it was to walk on water if he had not climbed out of what comfortably CARRIED HIM! Imagine If Samuel Asked Jesse For Any More Of His Sons, And They Went Out To Get David, That David’s Response Was, no thanks, that whole king, kingdom, crown, and anointing thing seems like a lot of work and headache. I’ll just stick to what I know and stay comfortable in this here pasture! What about Paul? We could easily understand if he decided to say, God, you, and I both know where I come from and what I did. It is nice that you want to use me regardless, but I do not think I want to deal with the hassle of all the critics addressing my past. I will just write a letter or two on your behalf, to your churches, behind the scenes and sign it anonymously! Just Imagine If Jesus Said I’ll WAIT FOR A MORE COMFORTABLE METHOD OF SALVATION FOR THE WORLD, THAT CROWN AND CROSS, THOSE NAILS AND SPEARS, ALL LOOK A BIT TOO UNCOMFORTABLE FOR ME TO BEAR!
Listen: God has much more of Him that He wants you to experience, but it will ONLY happen as you move beyond all your usual security blankets and abandon yourself to total trust in Him! He has so much more He wants to do with your life, BUT IT’S BEYOND YOUR COMFORT ZONE! Like those baby birds, you were not created to just hunker down in a safe, secure little nest – a nest that is becoming increasingly uncomfortably small! No, you are destined to soar! Therefore, do not let the comfortability of the nest kill you!
After examining the topic of complacency, I have personally realized that it is easy to fall into the sin of complacency. The creator of the universe calls us to glorify Him, in our worship, praises, devotions and we struggle to attend church or spend time in study and prayer. We take what is holy and treat it as mundane.
DANIEL – a man who was under the rule of three major rulers, yet he led a life of humbleness and never let complacency overtook him. Because of the power he had people around him, started envying him, and placed traps to remove him and we know the rest of the story. So, we need to start asking ourselves when we compare ourselves with Daniel. Are we leaving a complacent life in the offices? Do people in the office or workplace know this is not you - you will not compromise on bribe, lie, go against your moral standards. It is not because you are great but because it is the God whom we serve is great and we belong to him and that is why we hold our moral standard high or where you study, do they know who you are? What is not negotiable with Daniel, they knew it very well? And they started to use that against Daniel. Daniel teaches that all throughout his life his priority was God. Honor God and He will add Glory to you.
Listen, complacency is a serious matter, and this is a sin. We must confess our sin to the Lord and allow Him to purify us of that which taints our lives and souls. James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” This promise still holds true for all of us even today. So repent, break free from complacency, and bring honor to God.
DON’T LET COMFORTABILITY, CARELESSNESS, AND COMPLACENCY KILL YOUR CALLING!
Write the book; preach the sermon; teach the lesson; play the instrument; travel the land; go back to school; apply for the mortgage, the scholarship, the grant; the loan; start the business…whatever it is, stop procrastinating! Just because the opportunity came once, is no guarantee it will come again!
In a Nutshell: All you have is TODAY! Tomorrow is promised to NO MAN! Therefore, stop deferring till the morning what you can do TODAY! When the Spirit gives you a GO, do not allow your Flesh to STOP you! Do not make excuses; don’t blame others or point fingers to accuse. No, this is your life, the only one you get, so make the best and most of it!
Blessings
J.P. Olson
www.thewordwithjpolson.com
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