The Trap of Complacency

Grace Moment by Moment-monthly column
The billboard read, “Fear vs. Faith: Which will win in the end?” What caught my eye as I rode in the passenger seat of my friend’s car was the picture of a boxing ring with caricatures of a determined Osama bin Laden wearing boxing gloves and a serene looking George W. Bush with a halo over his head and his hands folded in prayer.

While the company paying for this advertisement, in my humble opinion, could have used better judgment and taste for subject matter, their objective was achieved. I started thinking about the sign’s message. I wondered, “How many of us make choices based on which option was safest or secure rather than show a willingness to take a risk?”

In this post-9/11 era, I believe we have as individuals become so afraid to reach beyond self-imposed, and government instituted boundaries that we are in danger of growing apathetic and complacent about life.

Since 9/11, I have watched my neighbors, friends and family develop a tendency to equate safety (peace of mind) with the impermanent objects of place, things and self to the exclusion of other people. Even when it involves placing our trust in God; “faith, the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” takes a back seat because our personal boundaries have become so inflexible we shut everyone else out. Why? Because we are afraid we will be hurt. Someone asked me the following question recently:

“Isn’t Forgiveness the Same as Trust?”
The answer is No. If we are honest with ourselves, sometimes, it is easier to forgive someone than it is to trust them again. When we open ourselves to trusting someone and they wound us deeply, it is more difficult to allow them close enough to rebuild trust again. The same can be true when we open ourselves up to trusting new people that God brings into our lives.

Seeking a sense of comfort or rest from the stress and trauma that we daily experience in life is necessary and vital to our mental health. However, admitting the need for comfort can happen through one of several ways. Fear clouds our judgment, affects our reasons for taking action or not. Either we choose to react negatively, by burrowing in place, hunkering down behind things, shutting tight the door to our heart and by lashing out at everyone until the next wave of hurt, pain and tragedy pass us by. Or, we choose to positively respond by accepting the situations, circumstances and stresses as a challenge.
A Proposal
If instead of succumbing to fear’s paralyzing hold we willingly embrace the experience as a calculated risk employed by God to help us, we could grow and mature as the person He wants us to be. If we view life this way, we are not denying the fears, doubts and uncertainties we struggle with everyday; rather we are using them as energy to propel us forward. As we do, God will break the stranglehold of fear’s complacency and apathy have on us, freeing us to do the work He has called us to do.

I recall a very wise person telling me once, “Courage isn’t the absence of fear; it is the action you take in the midst of it.” Another wise friend added, “Fear in the absence of faith is absolute chaos, while faith exercised in the midst of fear is true safety (peace of mind) because it comes through placing trust in the person of Jesus Christ.”