Last Friday, I was reminded how dangerous complacency can be in our lives. It can cause you to become comfortable with what you are doing and it can cause you to make mistakes because you assume everything is going to turn out right without any effort on your part.
On Friday, we were having to remove and relocate a nuisance alligator, which has turned out to be a regular practice for this year. We quickly put a snare on the alligator, and pulled it onto the dock. At this point, my complacency got the best of me. Rather than overseeing the process, I turned it over to the students in my office. "It's not big deal -- let them get the experience of restraining the alligator." I gathered up the equipment as they proceeded to tape the alligator's mouth and tape his legs up over his back.
Once they had it secure, we each grabbed a leg and someone grabbed the tail and we headed down the dock to put the alligator in the truck for transport. As we neared the truck, the unthinkable happened. The alligator made one twist and promptly broke the duct tape holding his legs immobile over his back. At the same time, he attempted to open his mouth, and while the tape held, it did stretch to the point where he could open his mouth enough to snap. Because of my complacency, we found ourselves holding an unrestrained alligator and I had put myself and several students into a very dangerous situation.
Yesterday, I had lunch with a fellow local pastor, and as I listened to him express concern over the spiritual state of his church, over the problems that he was facing in his second year of ministry in this location, I found myself thinking, "Wow! I'm doing pretty good. We don't have any problems. Everything's going good."
And then, I heard that sound. Duct tape ripping and legs coming free. A dangerous beast freed to rampage and pillage. The sound of a roaring lion. I had become complacent -- contented and comfortable in my ministry in the two churches that I pastor. When had I ceased to be so concerned over the growth of the church, over the discipleship of those in my care? When had I ceased to stop pouring out my prayers to God on their behalf? When did I quit trying to challenge others in their Christian walk and just sit back and let things continue the way they were going?
I was reminded this week that God is not a God of complacency. He doesn't want us to get comfortable in what we are doing, in how we are serving Him. He wants us to constantly be growing in our walk with Him. He wants us to be challenged in our personal lives so that we depend more and more on Him and so we serve Him more and more. God doesn't want us sitting in the living room, reclined in a chair and taking life easy. He wants us on the edge, living and serving in wild places, with danger on our left and our right.
When we get complacent about our Christian walk and about our Christian service, we turn God into an idol of our own making, an idol that is predictable and familiar. God is none of that. As C.S. Lewis wrote of Aslan, who symbolized Christ in the Chronicles of Narnia, "He is not a tame lion." In the same way, God is not a tame God. But, we do everything in our power to make Him tame.
Our challenge, then, is not to accept the same old-same old. Our challenge then is not to become comfortable in our Christian lives, our Christian walk, or in the ministries and programs in our churches. Our challenge is to step forward in faith in God and into the unknown. To get up from our easy chairs and to get into the battle. God did not call us to sit on the sidelines and to watch the game, but to get into the action.
When was the last time that you attempted something for God that was bigger than yourself? When was the last time your church attempted something for God that could not possibly be done with our own strength? It's time for us to move from complacency and into the Christian life that God called us to. May God's Spirit inspire your life and challenge you today to do something for Him today.
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