Amos 6
The Danger of Complacency!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, September 6.
There is a significant difference between contentment and complacency. The Lord desires for us to be content, as Paul explained in Philippians 4:11-13, “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Contentment is a state of peace because you have learned to trust God. There is a deep satisfaction that comes with feeling content but not because you have arrived at your destination; rather, because you have learned to attune to God’s presence as He walks with you along the way.
Complacency is a smug satisfaction in your own accomplishments; it’s a self-centered sense of well-being as if you have arrived. It’s a pride that invites you to sit back and stay a while, celebrating your accomplishments no matter what else is happening around you. Unlike the journey orientation of contentment, which keeps a person humble and listening to God, complacency is a destination mindset that lures a person into pride and passivity, such as we saw at the time of Israel’s judgment in Amos 6:4-7:
Those who recline on beds of ivory and sprawl on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock and calves from the midst of the stall, who improvise to the sound of the harp, and like David have composed songs for themselves, who drink wine from sacrificial bowls while they anoint themselves with the finest of oils, yet they have not grieved over the ruin of Joseph. Therefore, they will now go into exile at the head of the exiles, and the sprawlers’ banqueting will pass away.
Seize the moment and attune to the presence of God in your daily life, giving thanks that He walks with you in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
God bless you!
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