“Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come!” (Amos 6:1)

Amos 6 reminds me that we can’t be complacent and base our security on how we’re doing financially, relationally, or physically, because any of those things can literally be taken away in an instant. When we “rest on our laurels” and fail to continuously move closer and closer to God and His will for us, we play an extremely dangerous game that has eternal consequences.

I think about my wife’s health situation and how the healthiest person I know was struck completely by surprise, with something that was also completely out of her control. We absolutely cannot put our hope and security on things of this world, no matter how secure they appear to be.

In verses 1-7 we see Israel and other nations falling into the trap of becoming complacent and resting on their wealth and current state of well-being. God reminds us that in the lens of eternity, it doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, what position or status you hold, how much wealth you have, or how well you’re doing at any given moment. These things are all temporary and can come and go just as quickly as a gust of wind.

In verses 8-14, God declares that He absolutely abhors and detests their pride and arrogance and everything they built up with it, and that they will receive due penalty for their sin. The same fate awaits those who fail to put their life in Christ’s hands.

I pray that God would work any pride, arrogance, and spiritual complacency completely out of me. If we are not moving forward in our spiritual walk and relationship to Jesus, we are actually moving backwards… and that is the danger of complacency.

[From February 13, 2019]