Avoiding Spiritual Complacency

We all know someone who thinks that the world revolves around them. Woe to the woman who meets the man who thinks he is God's gift to women and is hideous! Woe to the man at work who is forced to work with the guy who believes the office could not continue without him! We understand that this is arrogance and that this is not right, but how did these people get to this point? Some may be delusional, but for the most part, this arrogance is born from a feeling of complacency.

Complacency is defined by Webster as "self-satisfaction accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies." This attitude is clearly prevalent in many people and even groups of people today. Could we not use the United States as an example? This is the lone superpower of the world yet watched helplessly as thousands of its own died because of a small group of terrorists? Complacency is a great danger, for disappointment and suffering almost inevitably come with it.

When we examine the Scriptures, we see that one of the chief attitudes that has led to apostasy from God has been complacency. Complacent attitudes have even led to the origin of sin on Earth, with Eve being tempted in the Garden by Satan (Genesis 3:3-7). God had given her and Adam anything they would need, leading no doubt to a feeling of complacency. And who was there to exploit that complacency? Satan!

This attitude of complacency is prevalent in the history of the church, for it is seen in two churches of the Revelation: Ephesus and Laodicea. The church in Ephesus, while commended for their adherence to truth and rebuke of false doctrine, had "left their first love" (Revelation 2:4). We can see how easy it would be to fall into this complacency, for we can see that the Ephesians felt comfortable knowing that they had fought for the truth and maintained it, yet meanwhile they lost their first love. How grievous it is to win truth and lose Jesus! The church in Laodicea was strongly rebuked by Jesus in Revelation 3:14-22 for exhibiting complacency: "we have need of nothing," they say, yet it is this church that lacks a single positive comment from its Shepherd. The error of complacency is very great.

How, then, shall we avoid complacency in spiritual things? There are three ways:

1. Remember who you're fighting! Satan is always present, and recognize that he is as a roaring lion, seeking one to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Satan can and most certainly will attack when you are not aware of your own deficiencies.

2. Continually examine yourself, as Paul exhorts the Corinthians to do (2 Corinthians 13:5). Self-examination spiritually is one of the best ways to prevent complacency-- as long as the examination is honest. Do not attempt to delude yourself into thinking that a deficiency of yours is not important or non-existent. You can fool yourself, but you cannot fool either God or Satan. The latter will tempt you, and then you must answer to the former. Woe to the one who is tempted and falls due to complacency!

3. Involve yourself in spiritual matters-- be diligent to present yourself as one approved (2 Timothy 2:15). This means that you are to be a hard and focused worker! If you work hard in the field of the Lord, studying and exhorting and doing His will, you will have no time to become complacent and to be tempted!

The spiritual path of a man can be summed up in the following: if you're not striving upward, you're falling away. There is no stopping on the path to Heaven, for you either continue to walk the narrow way or fall back into eventual apostasy. Why is this? Complacency! The church in Laodicea felt that it no longer needed to strive, for they had need of nothing, they said. What was Jesus' response? Remember this, and always be diligent to be presented approved to God!

Ethan R. Longhenry
evangelist@norwalkchurch.org

Questions to Ponder During the Lesson

AM: Acts of the Assembly: Singing

1. What Scriptures demonstrate that we are to sing in the assembly?
2. Why, according to the Scriptures, do we sing in the assembly?
3. Why are other practices not in accordance with the Scriptures?

PM: Acts of the Assembly: Praying

1. What Scriptures demonstrate that we are to pray in the assembly?
2. What are the elements of prayer in the assembly?
3. What are some pitfalls of prayer in the assembly?

Ethan R. Longhenry
evangelist@norwalkchurch.org

The church of Christ in Norwalk, Ohio

Thank you for reading the electronic version of our bulletin, Good News for Norwalk. If you live in Norwalk or happen to be traveling in the Norwalk area, we would certainly love to have you visit one of our assemblies!

Our location:

386 North Edgewood Drive (just off US 250 just north of Norwalk's city limits)
Norwalk, Ohio 44857

Our assemblies:

Sunday morning assembly: 10:30am
Sunday evening assembly: 6:00pm

Our Bible studies:

Sunday morning Bible study: 9:30am
Wednesday evening Bible study: 7:00pm

For More Information

If you have any questions or comments about anything you have read here, or desire more information, please contact our evangelist, Ethan Longhenry, at evangelist@norwalkchurch.org.

Please click here to return to the 2006 archive of Good News for Norwalk, or click here to return to the main page of Good News for Norwalk. Thanks!