“Shall your brothers go to the war while you sit here?” Numbers 32:6

NBA luminary Pat Riley says, “When a great team loses through complacency, it will constantly search for new and more intricate explanations to explain away defeat. After a while it becomes more innovative in thinking up how to lose than thinking up how to win.”

The danger with complacency is that it is not only acutely self-serving, but it is highly contagious.

Last week we saw how God allowed an entire generation of mediocre souls to die off in the wilderness because they were too filled with fear to take the Almighty at His word (Numbers 13). Only Joshua and Caleb, a bold minority, followed God fully and didn’t shrink back in cowardice. In Numbers 32, we pick up the story 38 years later, and it’s now “GO” time.

God has a new generation of warriors poised to cross the Jordan and seize Israel’s Promised Land. They are prepared to confront any giant that stands in their path, but their momentum is stifled by yet another bump in the road—one of subtle complacency.

The danger with complacency is that it is not only acutely self-serving, but it is highly contagious. Tweet this

As the people journey on, they come to the regions of Jazer and Gilead, which seemed perfect for cattle. Because the tribes of Reuben and Gad had a great number of livestock, this was the ideal real estate for them to settle into. So these tribes ask Moses, Eleazar, and other community leaders if this could be their inheritance.

“Do not take us across the Jordan,” they say. We’ve found the perfect spot for our families, so who needs this whole Promised Land thing anyway, right?

These tribes fell prey to complacency and selfishness, and became indifferent to the fate of their fellow Israelites who would still have to cross the Jordan and fight many battles before they could stake their inheritance. The tribes of Reuben and Gad probably felt like they had fought and suffered enough already, and this would be a peaceful place to settle down and mail it in the rest of the way. They figured everyone else could go out to battle while they sat there milking cows and fertilizing their lawns. The problem was, it wasn’t about them!

Moses was annoyed with their apathy. He reminded them that their fathers had acted in a similar way and discouraged the hearts of the people with their contagion of mediocrity (Numbers 32:6-10). He cautioned them that if they acted in the same spiritual apathy as their fathers, that this next generation would suffer immensely and be destroyed in the wilderness (Numbers 32:15). Their complacency would have repercussions that affected many others, not just themselves.

This was not only a disturbing act of selfishness, but also a sinful indifference to the divine word on which Israel’s existence entirely depended. Moses assured them that if they stayed home and ‘played it safe’ while their brothers were battling for life and death to take possession of the Promised Land, then their “sin” of doing nothing would surely find them out (Numbers 32:23). Moses wanted them to know that there was a battle to fight and that they were all in it together.

Just because these tribes were content with where they were, it did not relieve them of the responsibility to keep the battle going. Eventually these tribes heeded Moses’ rebuke and course corrected. They resolved to do what the Lord commanded, to “pass over armed before the Lord into the land of Canaan” and help their brothers along (Numbers 32:31-32). This story didn’t end as drastically as the fate of the previous generation. There was a positive outcome because the Reubenites and the Gadites were willing to repent of their complacency and follow the Lord fully.

Complacency can be very subtle and insidiously erosive to our faith. It is a slow spiritual death.

It can cause us to go about our daily lives with spiritual blinders on, not considering the needs of others around us. It can make us keenly self-absorbed and content with only our own affairs and personal comforts. Complacency produces anemic prayers that are predominantly self-focused rather than deeply intercessory for others. Complacency shifts our focus from seeing our existential identity as ‘being a blessing to others’ to mainly pursuing ‘what we can accumulate for ourselves.’

Complacency is also one of the greatest deterrents to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ in our generation. Our Lord gave us the command to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). Imagine what it might look like if every believer in the Western world refused to live in complacency toward this Great Commission.

What if we traded in our ‘settler’ theology for a ‘go-time’ theology? What if we became intentional disciplemakers? What if we truly became our brother’s keeper? What if we loved our neighbors indiscriminately? What if we fiercely defended the cause of the weak and the fatherless? What if we intentionally looked after the widow and the orphan? What if we gave everything we had to champion the Gospel among unreached people groups and lost tribes?

Imagine the eternity-shaping movements we could become part of if we traded in our complacency for an “all-in” resolve to join Jesus in His missional adventure. What might that produce in our generation? Think about that, beloved, as you seek to abide in Him this week.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we realize that complacency can be a subtle and slow spiritual death. We don’t want to waste our days in mediocrity. Show us those bold faith steps that we need to take that will keep us in missional rhythm with where your kingdom is advancing in our generation. Help us to detect any complacency in our lives and grant us the power of the Holy Spirit to rise above it. For your glory and fame, and in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Complacency can be very subtle and insidiously erosive to our faith. It is a slow spiritual death. Tweet this

Questions for Reflection and/or Family Discussion:

1. When have you been able to identify complacency in your life?
2. Why do you think complacency comes with such subtlety?
3. In what other ways can complacency be erosive to one’s faith?
4. What is encouraging about how this chapter in Numbers plays out?
5. In what ways can you identify complacency in your life? What can you do this week to rise above spiritual complacency?

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The post The Dangers of Complacency appeared first on Jimmy Larche.

Text: Numbers 13:1-33

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.” 1 Corinthians 16:13 NIV

Eight years before the Wright Brothers took their home-built aircraft to the sandy dunes of Kitty Hawk, cranked up the engine, and took off into the history books, much of the scientific community considered their escapades as madness.

Lord Kelvin, the famed man of science and President of the Royal Society of England, made an obstinate declaration, saying, “Heavier than air flying machines are impossible.” Yet the Wright Brothers never let those criticisms deter them from doing the seemingly impossible. They didn’t apologize for having a bold vision, and their audacious dream still speaks today as millions of flights lift off annually. Rumor has it that Lord Kelvin’s science was, well, just a little off.

Albert Einstein once said, “Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.” That’s a great description of the narrative we find in the thirteenth chapter of the book of Numbers. The Lord instructed Moses to send out twelve spies to do a reconnaissance of the land that God had promised Israel. When the twelve returned, only two of them believed that God was able to give them the land (Joshua and Caleb). The Bible describes Caleb as a man who had a “different spirit” and followed God fully (Numbers 14:24). Yet these two great spirits found themselves in the minority of a mediocre majority.

The majority came back from their surveillance filled with fear. The minority came back swelling with faith and courage. Caleb even tried to quiet the anxiety of the people by saying, “we are well able to overcome it” (Numbers 13:30), while the majority spread a “bad report” and infected the camp with cynicism (Numbers 13:31-32). What was the difference between the minority and the majority? The majority only focused on the giants in the land and viewed themselves in contrast to the size of those giants (Numbers 13:33). They only saw problems instead of possibilities. So they shrunk back in fear. The minority, Joshua and Caleb, had a God-sized vision that they didn’t apologize for. They saw the giants in the land in direct proportion to their God, and it made those giants seem very small and the task exceedingly possible.

Whenever we view ourselves in proportion to our circumstances, we always shrink back in fear. God’s promises seem implausible as fear gives way to mediocrity. The cynicism of the majority erodes our confidence, leaving us feeling ashamed for believing God in the first place, and regretfully inclined to apologize to the rest of the world for having faith. The enemy of our soul would love for nothing more than to thrash us into this state of spiritual paralysis—that place where we never step out in bold faith or leave the safe and shallow shores of status quo Christianity.

Conversely, when we see our circumstances in proportion to the size of our God, impossibilities then become a seedbed for miracles. Faith swells and our vision is emboldened. Problems become opportunities for God to show up. Difficulties are occasions for the Almighty to make His glory known.

Never apologize for a God-sized vision! Tweet this

We live in a world where finite minds and small spirits oppose mighty acts of courage. People get offended that you actually take God at His Word and dare to have faith in what He has spoken. They will malign you and slander you for believing that God’s promises are bigger than their status quo. We should never apologize for having faith in God’s Word, no matter how implausible it may sound to others. To apologize for your audacity is to rob God of the glory He longs to capture from your following Him “fully.” Like Caleb, we ought to never regret taking God at His Word regardless of the status quo we find ourselves up against.

Remember, beloved, the mediocre majority always dies in the wilderness. But those “different” spirits always find their Promised Land. Think about that as you seek to abide in Him this week.

Prayer

Father, we understand that faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. We live in a world of skepticism—one where that faith is constantly under fire from finite minds, small spirits, and cynical worldviews. It’s even assaulted by our own inner voices, doubts, and insecurities. We live in the tension of trusting in your promises while being daily confronted by the reality of our circumstances. Help us to view those circumstances rightly—in proportion to the One Who is infinitely good, eternally supreme, and an ever rewarder of those who stand firm in faith. Forgive us where we have shrunk back in fear, and restore us with an unapologetic and holy resolve to boldly take you at your word. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

The mediocre majority always dies in the wilderness. But those “different” spirits always find their Promised Land. Tweet this

Questions for Reflection and/or Family Discussion:

1. If you lived during the times of the Wright Brothers, how do you think you would’ve seen their pursuit to fly?
2. What’s the most audacious step of faith you have ever taken?
3. When has your faith met resistance from the status quo?
4. Where have you allowed the reality of your circumstances to speak louder than the greatness of your God? Where have you shrunk back in fear?
5. What can you do this week when your faith in God’s promises comes under fire from finite spirits, mediocre minds, cynical majorities, or unfortunate circumstances? How will you respond?

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The post Never Apologize for a God-Sized Vision, Bold Faith appeared first on Jimmy Larche.