Complacency is a Dangerous Enemy

2 Samuel 8:1-3, ESV

After this David defeated the Philistines and subdued them...

And he defeated Moab...

David also defeated Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah...

2 Samuel 10:17-18, ESV

And when it was told David, he gathered all Israel together and crossed the Jordan and came to Helam. The Syrians arrayed themselves against David and fought with him…and David killed of the Syrians the men of 700 chariots, and 40,000 horsemen, and wounded Shobach the commander of their army, so that he died there.

These were just some of the exploits of David which took place before 2 Samuel 11—and then 2 Samuel 11 begins like this:

2 Samuel 11:1-2, ESV

In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful.

David’s most dangerous enemy at this moment was not on a literal battlefield, it was on an internal battlefield.

From one chapter to the next, in the midst of a war against the Ammonites, David’s passion waned—and he stayed home when he should have been fighting. 

When our passion wanes, boredom can set in. When boredom sets in, complacency often isn’t far behind. And complacency is a dangerous enemy because it’s sly and subtle. It steals the life from our life without us even realizing it—and it can lead to us making decisions that are not even us. 

That’s why we have to keep doing the thing—and keep doing our spiritual disciplines—even when we don’t feel like it. Especially when we don’t feel like it.

When our passion wanes, and boredom attempts to set in, may we push it back by continuing to do the things we know we need to do. May we continue to press on, even when we don’t feel like it. 

Especially when we don’t feel like it.

Oh Lord, please restore our passion when it wanes, and give us the strength to continue to do the things we know we need to do, even when we don’t feel like it. Amen.