SHAKE OFF COMPLACENCY

Zephaniah 1:12 “At that time 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.'

Soren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher, told a story about a goose who was wounded and who landed in a barnyard with some chickens. He played with the chickens and ate with the chickens. After a while that goose thought he was a chicken. One day a flight of geese came over, migrating to their home. They gave a honk up there in the sky, and he heard it. The philosopher said, "Something stirred within the breast of this goose. Something called him to the skies. He began to flap the wings he hadn’t used, and he rose a few feet into the air. Then he stopped, and he settled back again into the mud of the barnyard. He heard the cry, but he settled for less." Complacency keeps us in the mud of the barnyard and keeps us from becoming all God meant for us to be.

Zephaniah has a harsh word to say about the person who has become spiritually complacent. Zephaniah said that God would search the city and “punish the men who are settled in complacency, who say in their heart, ’The Lord will not do good, nor will he do evil.’”

We are all subject to becoming complacent. Our souls become tired. Our spirits become fatigued. We find ourselves thinking that the poor are all around us, someone else can take care of them. There are lonely people in the church we could call on, but we don’t.There are people in our neighborhood we could invite to come to church, but we ignore them. There are commands that God has given us, but in a world in which people care very little for ethics and moral conduct, it is easy for us to yield to temptation and become complacent about living for God.

It is all too common and easy. Getting comfortable is a happy feeling. But it can, if left unchecked, stunt our growth and rob us of God’s blessings. The enemy would love for us to feel as though our “position” is as good as it gets and for us to feel that there is little benefit in striving for a stronger and deeper relationship with God. Life will confront us with choices. Apathy is a choice. We have to choose to be indifferent by overlooking the prompting of God to pursue greater things. How do you fight complacency? How do you get “fired up for God” when the spark has died out?

In Revelation, God tells the angel of the complacent church of Laodicea, “Behold, Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me.” In order to fight complacency, you have to hear the voice of God. Listen to the Word of God. Reject the “been there, done that” mentality. Lose the “it’s somebody else’s problem” approach. Listen to what God is saying to you. Then, get up and open the door. God desires everything from us and he wants us to have all of him. Nothing less will suffice.