“Back at Horeb, God, our God, spoke to us: "You've stayed long enough at this mountain.” - Deuteronomy 1:6

Have you ever heard the story of David and Bathsheba? You know, like the song? “You saw her bathing on the roof, her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you?” The basic story is that David is chilling out one night and sees a very beautiful (and very married) woman bathing on her roof. He has her brought to him and she becomes pregnant (I’ll let you connect the dots as to how that happened) and then he has her husband killed to cover up his mess. Not exactly a shining moment for one of the Bible’s shining heroes, is it?

How does David, one of the most revered heroes of Israel, make such a horrible decision? There’s an often overlooked verse that gives us a very important insight as to how David found himself in the position for such a complete moral failing. 2 Samuel 11:1 says “In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army.” This is the same passage in which David slips up with Bathsheba, and did you notice anything there? “at the time when kings go off to war.” David’s biggest failure came because he had gotten comfortable and complacent. He decided he had fought and grown enough. David was a king, but he stopped doing what kings are meant to do, and stopped being where kings are meant to be. With all his victories, David had gotten older, softer, and comfortable, and his complacency led to his biggest failure. To quote Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, his victory defeated him.

We may scoff at David and pride ourselves on the fact that we’ve never had an affair and covered it up with murder (and fair enough, go you!), but too often we find ourselves slaves to complacency nonetheless. I heard a pastor say once that his job was not merely to comfort the afflicted, but to afflict the comfortable, and really that is something we should all be doing for ourselves as well. Philippians 3:13-14 says “but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Does that sound like Christianity is meant to be a passive, comfortable, cruise control lifestyle? No! We are meant to be growing, pressing in, and reaching forward! The movement of those who believe is meant to be onward and upward. 

So where have you grown complacent? Have you become content to say a quick prayer in the morning and then go about your day? Did you decide reading the verse of the day on your bible app was enough to grow spiritually? Or maybe you stopped getting drunk every Friday, but still gossip constantly with no remorse? Or maybe you said a little prayer a few years ago, but haven't changed your life at all? We’re all on a journey of growth, but if your habits today are the same as they were a year ago (good or bad), maybe it’s time to reflect and ask if complacency has set in. We can’t do what we’ve always done and get where we’ve never been. As Bob Dylan said, “he not busy being born is busy dying" so if you aren’t getting better, there is a very real chance you’re getting worse. Maybe it’s time to get a little bit metal with yourself and ride the lightning instead of riding the line. I would challenge you to identify where you’ve become complacent, and find a way to make a change. Don’t rest in what you’ve done and where you’re at because you think you’ve come far enough. Don’t stay at home at the time when kings go off to war. Afflict your comfort, kill your complacency, and press on toward the goal, you’ve stayed long enough on this mountain.

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