Complacency

“I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its dregs--who think, ‘The Lord will do nothing either good or bad.’ Their wealth will be plundered, their houses demolished. Though they build houses, they will not live in them; though they plant vineyards, they will not drink the wine.”

Zephaniah 1:12-13

I’m going to be honest here – sometimes I come out of a Sunday message thinking it’s mostly directed at other people. While I might not be thinking of any one person or group specifically to which the message would apply, it’s not always clear where the personal application is supposed to be. But maybe the best course then is to keep looking.

I have a number of flaws to which I’ll readily admit, but I don’t consider complacency one of them.  After all, I spend a great deal of time and mental energy most days trying, and more often than not failing, to improve myself. I’m not satisfied with my work habits and productivity, the depth of my relationship with God, how often I exercise, how often I pray, and how I respond to the needs of others. Most of the time, I consider this striving to improve an asset. Though what this effort leaves with me, instead of wisdom or character improvement, is an abiding discontent.

But discontent is almost the opposite of complacency, isn’t it? Complacency at a glance seems like being content when you shouldn’t be – not recognizing where you need to improve, ignoring a lingering problem or even an imminent threat, or living at lowered awareness. It’s being unteachable when there are vital lessons to learn.

That’s all true enough, but maybe there’s more to complacency. As we heard in the message, complacency invites correction. It often begins with a mindset that becomes a belief, but more to the point, it diminishes God. The complacent, like those in the verse from Zephaniah above, picture God as neutral and detached from their own lives, leaving them to their own devices. And I’ve been there. It’s on my go-to list of explanations whenever I pray and don’t hear an answer from God right away. I try to convince myself that maybe God isn’t resolving a problem in my life because He expects I can fix it myself. God’s purpose is not to coddle me, after all, and my prayers might be more effective and faithful if I know I’ve exhausted every other possibility and the answer will have to come from Him.

When I rely on my own efforts to resolve a situation, I diminish the chance for the Lord to be more active and bear more fruit in my life. I make Him a kind of last resort – and so in any struggle where I’m not quite there yet, I don’t involve Him enough. And that can have consequences.

As a friend reminded me after the service, the opposite of complacency is not discontent – it’s intentionality. It’s purposing to bring God into every aspect of your life, great and small, and to make Him Lord. It’s resolving to be Spirit-directed, and embracing the notion that God is for us – which is a far cry from neutrality. And then, when we actively intend to bring everything to him in prayer, these other things are added to us. And the peace of God (which is a terrific analgesic for discontent, by the way) will go forward with us always.

Written by: Chad Halcom

Edited by: Tamara Sturdivant