complacency has to be the biggest enemy of success known to man. if you pay attention to the world around you it won't take long to notice people who have a great deal of potential and opportunity but squander it all away due to this thing called complacency. one of my favorite things to do as a pastor is premarital counseling. although i require couples to meet with me at least 4 times prior to doing their wedding i can't remember ever having a couple push back at the stipulation. they are always very excited about our meetings together and are very attentive to each other throughout the process. they are in love. their relationship has potential. they have a unified vision for their future. they are willing to do whatever it takes to be successful...together.
sadly, i have also sat through some post-marital counseling sessions. these are quite different in nature. typically there is one spouse who really wants counseling (many times hoping i will fix the other one) and one who thinks it is a dumb idea because they are too far gone and there is very little hope of reconciliation. it is a sad and difficult meeting. people are hurt. they have developed a gap in their relationship. they don't communicate anymore. they feel like they have fallen out of love.
so what happens? i certainly haven't examined it closely enough to justify calling it research but i am positive that complacency is a major factor. couples grow complacent when it comes to communicating felt needs with one another. husbands become complacent in making sure they are adding value to their wives. wives become complacent in affirming and supporting their husbands. people set their relational navigation on auto-pilot and their relationship winds up deteriorating.
you can see the powerful effects of complacency in many other areas of life as well. a salesman makes a couple of huge sales and grows complacent. he doesn't make as many sales calls the next quarter and even less the next....it begins to affect his numbers. a student doesn't study for a test and manages to do pretty well in spite of the lack of preparation. he decides that he must be gifted/smarter than average and begins to focus less and less on academic preparation. eventually his grades begin to drop. complacency begins to take its toll.
churches often find themselves at the tail end of complacency. i can tell you story after story of churches that had a big revival meeting where many were saved, a mission trip that refocused hearts on the needs of others, or built a building that was constructed to be a tool for reaching others with the life changing message of the gospel and gained a ton of momentum. i can also tell you stories of churches that gained the momentum but rested on the laurels of past success and it ushered in a season of mediocrity and uselessness. in some cases it ushered in death to their vision and influence.
how about you? are you coasting along with the mentality that "everything is fine," "this is normal," "we're just going through a rough patch"? if so, do whatever it takes to break free from the spirit of complacency and pray that God gives you a renewed vision and sense of direction. Your marriage, children, career, personal spiritual health and church are all too valuable to simply watch them slip through your fingers. Scripture teaches us that our help comes from the LORD!! That is great news as we continue to push forward and do the hard work of honoring God in every area of our lives.
1I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
2 My help comes from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
3He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
4Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5The LORD is your keeper;
the LORD is your shade on your right hand.
6The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7The LORD will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
8The LORD will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.
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