An idle mind might be the devil’s workshop but if the enemy could pick a town for us to live in, its name would be—Complacency. Ponder this: How many of the variables in your life equation are where or what you want them to be?

Setting aside what you may want, where are they RIGHT NOW? Are they where you know they should be, or at least, where they could be? If you want your life to be better, and honestly believe it could be, yet do nothing to address or change it…that’s Complacency.

And if I have learned anything in 54 years of often stumbling through this life, it is this: You can get complacent with literally anything in life if you do it, embrace it, tolerate it, or suffer through it long enough. And I mean anything. (Read that twice)

Who gives us the nudge to be better?

Regardless of who you are or where you are, sooner or later it happens to us all. We pitch our tent and unload at least part of our life, our very being, in Complacency-ville. And the enemy and his minions smile each time we unpack another suitcase.

Truth is, there are far more variables in my life that need improving than there are variables that don’t. And while I have no expectation that my life will ever run on all cylinders like a well-oiled machine, there are times in my life when the consistent nudge to improve simply can’t be ignored.

So if the enemy smiles when we become comfortable in our walk, satisfied with ourselves, and complacent in life, who gives us that nudge to be better? Short answer…that’s God.

And where does our strength come from?

As much as the enemy and his minions delight when you settle into Complacency, God and His Kingdom delight far more when you feel the itch to pack up and move. It’s like a chess game. Know this: Change is most often very difficult, but it is almost always possible.

Know this, too: When you start making the changes you need to make in your life, in your home, across the variables of your life equation…you will absolutely meet resistance, especially if you oversee that change and are ultimately responsible for the outcome of whatever it might be. Press on anyway!

And don’t confuse contentment with complacency. God calls us to be content, as we strive to do, be or become better in this world. ¹ And we are to be content because, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. ² The enemy doesn’t call us to anything. He just tells us to do, be or become the most life-sucking thing of all…Complacent.

Get in the boat. Do Your Part. Fight Back. And live a life worth the calling you have received. ³

From Nose to Toes!

 

Shane/#16

 

 

Shane Hale is a redeemed & re-purposed professional baseball player and former corporate sales executive. Shane, his wife Michelle, and their three sons live in Mobile, Alabama, USA, where he works as a Realtor. While seeking God’s plan for his life in the summer of 2014, God told Shane to start writing. Today he shares his faith to encourage and inspire others to seek His plan for their lives as well. Check out his blog at http://www.the1sixproject.com.

 

 

Footnotes: (1) Read Philippians 4:11b-12. (2) Read Philippians 4:13. (3) Read Ephesians 4:1.

Pictures: Banner: Complacency, photo by Shane Hale. (1) Satisfied Where I Am, from Britannica.com, July 9, 2023 Word of the Day…”foolish”. (2) I have learned I am to be content, Philippians 4:11, image created by DailyBibleMeme.com.