Complacency Is Deceptive

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Most of my thoughts in this Coping With Change series have been about dealing with the changes going on around us and responding. There certainly are times when we must initiate a change, or the change needs to take place in us. Those can be stressful times as well, even when we want the change to happen.

We've talked about the changes that we want to see in Longing to Make a Change, and about how to change some of our habits in The Habit Trap. What about when we need to change something and just aren't motivated? I don't know about you, but I sometimes get stuck in a rut of complacency. I know I should do something but I don't feel like it, I'm lazy, I procrastinate, or I just can't be bothered. I'm not proud of it. But I suspect I'm not alone. We tend to get comfortable where we are and there we'll stay, even if we know we probably shouldn't.

Complacency is that sense of self-satisfaction and security that can fool us into thinking we're safe when we are not. Thinking we can rest on our laurels and won't be attacked. Thinking someone else will do it. Thinking we've got plenty of time and the odds are all on our side.

It's important that we take time to rest, and it's good for us to enjoy our successes and victories! But when there's still work to be done, we mustn't avoid it.

It's always frustrated me that I can't seem to have my whole house clean and organized all at one time. If the living room is perfect, I'm pretty sure the bathrooms are not. If the kitchen and dining room are pristine, I can almost guarantee the bedrooms are chaos. And if I get the kitchen all tidied up it certainly won't stay that way while I go scrub the bathrooms. Sometimes I feel like that sums up my life. There's always something to work on, isn't there?

So what will I do? Just give up because there's too much, and settle down in bitter complacency that I can't do it so why bother? Or ignore all the stuff still on the to-do list and sit in smug complacency in the one room that I did get clean? It's hard sometimes, but I'm trying to choose the third way - continue doing whatever God puts in front of me to do, celebrating victories along the way, and relying on God's strength to keep me going. 

When it comes to the things we can DO, there's plenty. Housework and yard work, and whatever it is we do at our jobs - for me it's grading papers, and every week there's another batch to do! I sure enjoy the breaks and the milestones when something is complete! But I am in a constant struggle with laziness and procrastination. I know I need to get up and get moving on my to-do list, but I do not feel like it. 

I went past the field of a sluggard, past the vineyard of someone who has no sense; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. I applied my heart to what a observed and learned a lesson from what I saw:

A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest -

and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.

~Proverbs 24:30-34~

Wisdom and discernment and the fear of the Lord tells me that laziness and complacency is not smart. God intended for us to bring glory to him by stewarding his creation and working in his garden, so a good work ethic is important. Working as if for the Lord, and with all our heart. (Colossians 3:23)

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What about what we can be doing to make the world a better place? Will we be complacent and let someone else fight the battles to protect families and children? Will we speak up about harassment or injustice? Will we offer help to those who need something we can give? Will we get involved in the democratic process, and hold our elected officials accountable? Will we participate in the ministries of our church, or just sit on the sidelines, complacent? 

It's easy to think "I've earned a break because after all, I've been faithfully attending this church for all these years and I've done stuff and now it's somebody else's turn. I've been throwing my money in the plate and I show up every Sunday, that's more than most people do."  

This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words and say, "This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD!" If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your  ancestors for ever and ever. But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.

~Jeremiah 7:3-8~

Ouch. Complacency can be very deceptive. Thinking we've got it made but failing to do what God asks us to. And what we should be doing out of gratitude to him.

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When God is speaking to me, it's because he wants me to do something about it. Change my actions or change my heart. Probably both. But if I'm complacent I'm missing out on it.

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it - not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it - they will be blessed in what they do.

~James 1:22-25~

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Lord, help me to continue listening to the word, and to be faithful in doing what it says. I don't want to settle for "good enough", and I need your help.

    I guess now I need to get to work. 

Growth is the process of responding positively to change. ~Paul Harvey

For the Write 28 Days Blogging Challenge, I've decided to explore the theme of living well and with purpose during times of change. A few years ago, as I neared the end of my years as a homeschool mom, I realized my world would change when my youngest graduated. My roles in the homeschool community and in my social circles were affected. Things changed in the workplace. Things are ever changing at church. And as my children grew up and the nest has begun to empty, family dynamics are changing. To our surprise, my husband's job ended at the very beginning of 2022, and that has brought another round of changes to consider! I know very well that writing about coping with change is not the same as having all the answers. I'll do my best to share what I'm learning and experiencing, and I'd love to hear from others in the comments.

This post is part of the Write 28 Days Blogging Challenge hosted by Anita Ojeda. Find all my posts for the 2022 challenge here: 28 Days of Coping With Change

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