The Death of Complacency

One of the hardest things to do in our Christian walk is to fight against complacency. Life gets so busy and hectic that it is easy to lose sight of our goals in the juggling of all the demands thrown at us. Many times I have thought how wonderful it must be for monks and nuns. Thier only demand is to serve God. I feel like I am serving God and all the rest of mankind...(my husband, kids, extended family, friends, clients at work, the list goes on and on.) I fear God and Jesus get lost in the shuffle. There is an urgent and important battle between our priorities.

We must realize that the good often becomes the enemy of the best. We must constantly ask ourselves not if something is good, because there are sooooo many good things out there for us to do, even with the right heart and attitude, but if it isn't the BEST, the Thing that God has called us to do, then it is a distraction and that can be deadly to the cause of Christ. It can also be damaging to our walk.

We wonder why we are so worn out, tired, frustrated and burned out. It is because we have committed to more than God has asked us to do. We must be wise as serpents with the gift of free will and choices. We must excercise the word NO more often, not to God or Jesus, but to ourselves and others. This is part of the sacrifice involved in following Him.

Think of an athlete training for the olympics. They have to give up a lot of things, many of them good, in order to devote enough time to accomplish thier goal set before them. We must remember to do the same. Don't forget the goal or plan God has for you in the furthering of his kingdom. If we have nothing worth dying for then we have nothing worth living for. Jim Elliott said that, "He is no fool who gives up that which he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." How wise these words are.

Part of our call as Christians is to die to ourselves, mainly our old nature. Only then can we be transformed. If we want to stop struggling with complacency we must die to ourselves and live each day for Christ's plan and not our own selfish desires. I cannot place God and Jesus into a safe little box that doesn't touch the rest of my life. No, it must permeate and transform every part of my life and all that I do. I can no longer be the boss, I must give that role up to one much more worthy.

One of my biggest fears is to find out at the end of my life that I didn't fulfill that plan which God had for me. I don't want to dissappoint him or myself. To think of my life wasted. I want to live a life that shines for Him and blesses others. Don't we all want to do great things?! But we also don't want to give up things/sacrifice in order to make that happen. Why does sacrifice have to be such a dirty word? I wish I could embrace it more often by realizing what it can accomplish.

William Barclay said it well, "The Christian must realize that he is given life, not to keep it for himslef, but to spend it for others; not to husband its flame, but to burn himslef out for Christ and men." An anonymos quote says, "If we don't find something greater than ourselves to serve, we will end up serving ourselves." That would be a tragic end to our lives.

Remember that even Jesus struggled with sacrifice when he prayed in the garden of Gesthemene and asked, "Lord, if it is possible, take this cup from me, nevertheless, not my will, but thine." We all struggle. This is part of working out our salvation with fear and trembling. Just don't give up the good fight. It is worth it. Fight on!!!