The Complacency of Fools: Why Spiritual Apathy Destroys Faith

The Slow Drift of Spiritual Complacency

Spiritual complacency rarely happens overnight. Most Christians do not wake up one morning and decide to drift away from God. Instead, it happens quietly through small compromises, neglected habits, and the assumption that yesterday's faithfulness is enough for today. That is exactly why Scripture repeatedly warns us against becoming spiritually complacent. To illustrate this let's look at a story of a married couple.

A man and woman, very much in love, were married. Both cared for each other's needs, both sought forgiveness when they wronged one another, both were thoughtful and both sought only the best for the other.

Slowly, very slowly, things began to change. Since each one knew that they were loved they started to take each other for granted. They grew a little lazy, a little sloppy, a little complacent about their relationship. They didn't always say "I love you", they didn't always apologize for small wrongs, they didn't always remember to be thoughtful. He thought, "She knows how much I love her." She thought, "He knows how much I care." Until one day they woke up and realized that they didn't anymore.

That is what complacency can do to a human relationship. That same slow drift can happen in our relationship with God. Before we look at one of Scripture's clearest examples, it helps to understand what complacency really is.

What does complacency actually mean? It means a feeling of smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one's achievements. It means you are so self-satisfied that you see no need to try harder. If complacency can slowly destroy a marriage, imagine what it can do to our walk with God. Scripture gives us a sobering picture in the church of Laodicea.

Complacent About God

What does being spiritually complacent do to our relationship with God? The church at Laodicea in Revelation chapter 3 is an example of a complacent church. The people weren't bored with God, but then they weren't excited either. The people felt like they had it all. They were financially comfortable and in their world, money bought happiness, or so they thought. Christ did not simply expose their problem. He also told them how to overcome it.

God tells them though that things are not the way they perceive them to be. He tells them they are "wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked". God's solution is for them to be zealous and repent because if they don't, the ones that He loves, He "rebukes and chastens."

Are We Zealous?

To be zealous is to show great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or objective. Are we enthusiastic in our pursuit of a better relationship with God? Do we show great energy in pursuing a holier life, a fruit filled life for Jesus? Are we desperate for Jesus? How many people do you know that you could actually name that act like this? Without repentance we can't properly seek a holier life. Without repentance there can be no true zeal. We can all make the journey from complacency to repentance and hope.

The marriage at the beginning of this article illustrates exactly what Jesus was warning about. They wanted a good relationship, one that would last, and so they worked energetically toward that goal. As time passed though they became self-satisfied. They had a good marriage and it would always be that way, or so they thought. They forgot how much effort they put into each other in the beginning. Like the church at Laodicea they felt that they "had need of nothing."

In Deuteronomy 8:11-14 it says,

"Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery."

Then in verses 17 and 18 we read that people may say to themselves that it was their own power and strength that produced this wealth. They are reminded that it is God who gives us the ability to produce wealth.

The chapter continues to say that to forget God, to bow before other gods (sometimes we try to make ourselves god), has a price. Like nations in the past, if you continue in your disobedience and complacency, you will be destroyed. Notice the common thread running through each of these warnings: prosperity and self-satisfaction often lead people to forget God.

The Danger of Self-Reliance

Complacency has a lot to do with self-satisfaction. Notice that self seems to come up a lot. We live in a society today totally focused on self. What makes me happy is the only important thing. That people notice my accomplishments. That people applaud me and my talents, my money, and my abilities.

Zephaniah 1:12 says this about complacency,

"And it shall come to pass at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And punish the men Who are settled in complacency, Who say in their heart, ‘The Lord will not do good,

Nor will He do evil.’"

Is this us today? Have we so forgotten the Lord that we believe He will "do nothing"? In verse 17 we find out what happens to those who were complacent. Zephaniah tells us that Gd will bring a terrible distress on people. He says their blood will be poured out. Zephaniah warns where complacency leads nationally. Proverbs shows the same principle on a personal level.

The Complacency Of Fools

Proverbs 1:32 (NIV) says very concisely, "the complacency of fools will destroy them". Complacency leads to destruction. In Luke 12:13-21 Jesus tells the parable of the rich fool. He has it all and he wants more. He is all about partying and enjoying his riches. But then... God tells him he will die and what will happen to all of his stuff?

What does it profit him to have riches for himself but none of the riches of God? As Matthew 6:19-21 points out, the treasures of Heaven are not destroyed by moth or rust and can't be stolen by thieves. If complacency is the disease, what is the cure?

We Need Zeal

What we need is the fervor, the energy and excitement, the zeal of a young person in love. They don't care what other people think. They will get down on one knee in front of a crowd and vow their everlasting love. Would we make a vow like that to our King in front of a crowd? Do we seek our Lord with all that is within us? Is our one desire to serve Him faithfully? The church at Laodicea shows us exactly what happens when that zeal disappears.

The spiritually poor, blind and naked church at Laodicea; money had become their God. They were so self-reliant they forgot the One who gave them life everlasting. They had become foolish. The complacency of fools is still dangerous today because it slowly replaces zeal with self-sufficiency and dependence on God with dependence on ourselves.

Only God provides our real needs. Jesus said the Laodiceans were like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold and He would vomit them out. But to those believers who repent and are zealous He promised they will share in His kingdom.

Spiritual zeal is not emotional excitement for a moment. It is a heart that continually remembers who God is and refuses to take His grace for granted. Today, as then, Christ calls us to repentance. He calls us to a zealousness for things of His Father. He calls us to show the world what a life devoted to Christ really means.