Complacency

I'm so dead right now.  Just...stuck in a rut.  I feel like I do the same thing over and over again, and there's never any variety.  I get up, have some fermented cabbage (or dried anchovies if I want to mix it up), bike to school (the same route every single day), teach class (the same class over and over and over again), say hello to my students (they ALWAYS answer with, "I'm fine thank you, and you?"), have lunch, lesson plan, write some emails, bike back home, spend some time tutoring my host sister in Spanish, maybe go out for a bit, and then go to sleep.

Life is good, but in danger of becoming monotonous.  What I really need is some excitement, some flavor, some change to spice up my life.  Have you ever been where I am?  Do you ever feel stuck in the same old same old?  It doesn't have to be a bad rut - we can be in a rut because we have accomplished much, and are now content to sit on our laurels, to revel in the fruit of our labor.

The Bible has a word for this.  It's called complacency.  Webster defines complacency as self-satisfied or unconcerned.  That's not what I generally think of when I think of complacency - in my mind, it usually just mean laziness.  But that's not really what it means.  The ancient Romans, who built the most powerful nation in the world at their time, were certainly not lazy.  But it was their complacency, their sense of comfort, that ultimately destroyed them.

Beware of getting complacent, of getting stuck in a rut in your life - whether it be good or bad.  Stay constantly in the Word, praying that He gives you fresh insight every single day.  Complacency, if you give it enough time to take hold in your life, will destroy you.

Proverbs 1:32-33

³² For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, 

   and the complacency of fools will destroy them; ³³ but whoever listens to me will live in safety    and be at ease, without fear of harm.”

Know the "why"

I was posed a question last night that I didn't know how to answer.  "In 1 Corinthians 2:5," I was asked, "it states 'That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.'  My faith in the wisdom of men has taught me that there is no God.  So if to find God I must first give up the wisdom I so stringently stand by, where does one exist between those two ends before faith, in one or the other, is found?  In Faith limbo?  Faithless?"

Whew.  Heavy stuff.  I spent some time praying, some time asking a few close friends what they would say.  One dear friend in particular said something that gave me pause.  She said that "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7), which means that there is still much that can be learned in this world.  You don't have to throw away everything you've learned, you just need to see if it is truth or not by comparing it to what God has revealed to be true." 

One thing that I noticed in college is that sometimes it is the smartest people who have the hardest time believing in God.  They've heard all of the arguments to the contrary, seen all of the scientific or historical evidence, listened to and studied all of the reasons why God couldn't possibly exist.  All of the facts that they have studied tell them that God is a myth, and that anyone who believes otherwise is a fool.

The thing is, however, that Christianity is not a blind faith.  Believing in the Lord does not mean that you have to just believe in what you're told to believe, while the scientists and atheists get all of the "real" facts.  1 Peter 3:15 says to "always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have."  There are historical accounts that back up stories found in the Bible.  There are archaeological remnants that correlate perfectly with Biblical accounts.  God is a God of logic and reason, not panic and chaos.  Sure, sometimes we do not always understand Him; but that doesn't mean that He is illogical. 

So if you know God, I would encourage you today to ask yourself why.  Why do you love Him?  Why do you believe in Him?  Why are you willing to trust Him with your life?  Don't be caught by surprise if someone asks you to explain the hope that is within you.  And if you don't know God, I would encourage you to do the same.  Read the Bible, read the history and science books, ask questions with an open mind.  Like my friend said, you don't have to throw away everything you've learned.  You just have to let the God of reason show you what is true and what is not.

Proverbs 1:1-7
1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: 
2 for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight; 
3 for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair; 
4 for giving prudence to those who are simple, knowledge and discretion to the young - 
5 let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance - 
6 for understanding the proverbs and parables. the sayings and riddles of the wise.  
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, 
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.  

Change it up

I've been reading through Genesis and Matthew every morning with my friend, Sarah.  We both have the NIV version, but unlike myself, who grew up with that, it's a very foreign translation for her.  She's used to the KJV version, and so every verse is different to her.  She commented the other day that sometimes she has to read really slowly, because nothing sounds like the way she's used to it sounding.

But I realized something, as we were sitting there reading our Bibles together - Sarah slow and methodical, and me blazing through it.  Change is so important.  So often we get into spiritual ruts - we go to church every week, we read the same translation of the Bible every day, we know all of the "Christian" answers to say.  But when we get into a rut, it's so easy to forget why we're doing what we're doing, or what we're reading really says.

When I was in high school, I would try to buy a different translation of my Bible every year or so.  It's amazing how much more you pay attention when you're not reading the same words you've read your whole life.  But it's so much easier to read the same old words over and over again.  We gloss over the details and tune out the meanings, but then rationalize that it's ok because we're still reading the Bible.

But God wants His word to be a fresh revelation to us every day.  So I challenge you - change up your spiritual routine.  Don't get stuck in a rut.  Buy a different translation of the Bible.  Go to the early service at church.  Move your quiet time outside for a few days.  His mercies are new every morning....don't live your life chewing on stale, worn-out revelations!

Proverbs 1:32-33

³² For the waywardness of the simple will kill them,
   and the complacency of fools will destroy them;
³³ but whoever listens to me will live in safety
   and be at ease, without fear of harm.”