Complacency Kills

“Indeed, a king will reign righteously, and rulers will rule justly. Each will be like a shelter from the wind, a refuge from the rain, like flowing streams in a dry land and the shade of a massive rock in an arid land. Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen. The reckless mind will gain knowledge, and the stammering tongue will speak clearly and fluently. A fool will no longer be called a noble, nor a scoundrel said to be important. For a fool speaks foolishness and his mind plots iniquity. He lives in a godless way and speaks falsely about the Lord. He leaves the hungry empty and deprives the thirsty of drink. The scoundrel’s weapons are destructive; he hatches plots to destroy the needy with lies, even when the poor person says what is right. But a noble person plans noble things; he stands up for noble causes. Stand up, you complacent women; listen to me. Pay attention to what I say, you overconfident daughters. In a little more than a year you overconfident ones will shudder, for the grapes will fail and the harvest will not come. Shudder, you complacent ones; tremble, you overconfident ones! Strip yourselves bare and put sackcloth around your waists. Beat your breasts in mourning for the delightful fields and the fruitful vines, for the ground of my people growing thorns and briers, indeed, for every joyous house in the jubilant city. For the palace will be deserted, the busy city abandoned. The hill and the watchtower will become barren places forever, the joy of wild donkeys, and a pasture for flocks, until the Spirit from on high is poured out on us. Then the desert will become an orchard, and the orchard will seem like a forest. Then justice will inhabit the wilderness, and righteousness will dwell in the orchard. The result of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quiet confidence forever. Then my people will dwell in a peaceful place, in safe and secure dwellings. But hail will level the forest, and the city will sink into the depths. You will be happy as you sow seed beside abundant water, and as you let oxen and donkeys range freely.” (Isaiah‬ ‭32‬:‭1‬-‭20‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Complacency is not the same as contentment. We are called to be content, but we are never called to be complacent. Contentment has to do with our desires for wealth and our continual need to acquire and accumulate things and grow more wealthy. But complacency is spiritual stagnation. Being spiritually complacent will actually cause you to be less content. But learning to be content will cause you to be less spiritually complacent. Interesting, isn’t it?

This week’s focal passage study is a continuation of last week’s study in chapter 31. If you’ll recall, last week ended with a declaration that their “rock” will pass away because of fear and that rock seems to be the Assyrian king. Isaiah also stated that God would do these things because His “fire” is in Zion and “furnace” is in Jerusalem. That fire and furnace are the hearth of the sacrificial altar and God Himself would make the necessary sacrifice to achieve ultimate victory in His people’s lives. This week carries that theme forward with “Indeed, a king will reign righteously, and rulers will rule justly.” This is the fulfillment of that victory!

God’s King will reign righteously and the rulers who follow Him will rule others justly. This is the establishment of God’s kingdom, the very one that Jesus proclaimed had come and “is within you” (see Lk. 17:20-21). Notice how different His kingdom is from those we know from experience: “each [ruler] will be like a shelter from the wind, a refuge from the rain, like flowing streams in a dry land and the shade of a massive rock in an arid land.” Rulers who are not looking out for themselves but are seeking what’s best for their constituents. Imagine, leaders who truly lead us towards goodness with godly character and rulers who really care about those who are hurting and oppressed among us. Utopia? No, not really. It’s what God desires in us and from us, right now.

This isn’t just some child’s daydream that never becomes reality. This is the reality of what it means to live in obedience to the King and to be transformed by His rule in our lives. We will be sheltered from the wind and find refuge from the rain, in Him. He will be like flowing streams of water in a dry land and like the shade of a massive rock in an arid land. Just to be clear, this isn’t heaven or the millennial reign of Christ. This is the reign of Christ in our present world where storms still rage and the wind still blows. But He is our shelter and refuge when those things overtake us. There are places where this land is still hot and dry, but He is our drink of cool water from a flowing stream and our shade when it gets too hot.

We often long for Jesus to return and to usher in His millennial kingdom, don’t we? I know I do. But then I’m struck by the declaration that God waits because He doesn’t desire any to perish: “The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.” (2 Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭9‬ ‭CSB‬‬) We need to learn to live in a constant state of desiring to see God’s kingdom come to complete fruition even while we embrace His willingness to be patient because He deeply wants none to perish and all to repent. Notice how Isaiah says the same, “the eyes of those who see will not be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen.” He goes on to say, “the reckless mind will gain knowledge, and the stammering tongue will speak clearly and fluently.” This is in stark contrast to those “who have eyes, but cannot see and have ears, but cannot hear” in previous chapters. 

Oh LORD, help us to patiently await your second coming. We may cry out in fear and frustration in our struggles, but you wait only because you seek others whose eyes are beginning to see Your grace and experience Your mercy. You await those whose ears are beginning to hear the powerful truth of Your word and whose minds are awakening to the transforming power of Your Spirit. May we be patient, knowing your timing is ALWAYS perfect.

Now Isaiah draws a sharp contrast between the hope of Messiah’s kingly reign and life as Isaiah sees it. He contrasts eyes opening to God’s presence and ears hearing His truth with the reality of sin’s domination in men’s lives: fools who are called noble, and scoundrels who are deemed important. This is a condemnation on how we overlook godly virtues and focus on selfish desires in those we choose and allow to lead us. Fools are described as those who plot iniquity, live godless lives and speak falsely about the LORD but we call them noble and place them in leadership roles. Scoundrels are described as wielding destructive weapons, hatching plots and lying to destroy those who are in need even when the needy and poor are speaking the truth. In other words, we choose leaders not because they do what is right and good but because they will do what most benefits us and satisfy our own needs or desires.

Isn’t that how we often choose political leaders? Don’t we often vote for those who fit our expectations and meet our demands? Isn’t that what we generally expect from a candidate for public office? Do we really consider their values, their character, their public speech and conduct? Do we care whether they’re kind, good, honest? Is it important that they care about their children and are faithful to their spouse? Shouldn’t it be? Are they more interested in money, power and fame? Do they care more about themselves or do they care about the poor and needy? Are they honest or do they only tell us what we want to hear? Maybe we’ve lost sight of what we really need and who can really help us. 

Now, Isaiah moves from describing the problem to calling his people into action. He says, “a noble person plans noble things” and “stands up for noble causes.” Real godliness, real goodness, real nobleness doesn’t sit by and watch. Real nobility responds when things get like this. So, STAND UP! Pay attention! Stop being complacent, listen to God’s demands and act on them. Isaiah uses strong words, but complacency towards God demands a strong reaction.

Complacency is a sense of smugness or self-satisfaction, but especially with an awareness of the need for change. You’re complacent when you look around and recognize that something needs to be done, but you refuse to do anything. Our passage says that a truly noble person sees, plans and responds to the need but a complacent person sees, ignores and refuses to do anything to help. I think there are two issues at play here: 1) a spiritual/accountability complacency, and 2) a socio-political complacency. What you might overlook is that the first one actually contributes to the second one. Let me explain…

Whenever we grow spiritually complacent we no longer recognize our sinful attitude, actions and lack of response towards God. We become comfortable in and even accommodating to our sin. We think we’re okay and have no need of confession and repentance. This happens when we lose sight of our true standard. Sinful complacency sets in whenever we stop judging our lives by the example of Christ and start judging our lives in comparison to each other. We see no need for change or improvement because “I’m as good as you.” This is what Isaiah means when he says, “a fool will no longer be called a noble, nor a scoundrel said to be important.” We lose perspective on who is noble and what is important because we’ve lost sight of godliness and a holy purpose.

“Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death — even to death on a cross.” (Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭5‬-‭8‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

As the verses cited above imply, not only must we seek godly character and a holy purpose, we must also embrace a Godly sense of socio-political responsibility. Our redemption is intended to have a positive impact on the people around us. If God condemns the words and actions of the fool (see v. 5-6) then it implies He expects us not just to do better than the fool, but to seek godliness. To seek to be more and more like Him. Not only should we seek to speak wisely, plan kindness, act godly, and speak honestly about the LORD, but He also expects us to stand up for nobles causes, feed the hungry, a drink of cool water to the thirsty and care for the hurting and the outcast (see v. 6-8 and Matt. 25:31-46).

In addition to doing these things ourselves, the call to forsake complacency also implies the expectation of these characteristics from our spiritual and political leaders. Isaiah calls upon those “complacent ones” to repentance: “Shudder you complacent ones; tremble, you overconfident ones! Strip yourselves bare and put sackcloth around your waists. Beat your breasts in mourning… For the palace will be deserted, the busy city abandoned. The hill and watchtower will become barren places forever.” 

God is judging their complacency, their failure to see, hear and repent of this sin. We must recognize our own failure in this area. We often fail to seek godly leadership, spiritually and politically. We have grown complacent in a shallow relationship with God and it infects the expectations we have of our leaders. We must repent, seek to be godly people as we continually grow in our holiness and in relationship with the LORD. And, we must expect nothing less of our leaders.

Finally, while salvation comes to each person by grace, through faith in Jesus, its results are never private and hidden. Jesus tells us that our trust in Him must be like salt that permeates our lives, our faith must be like a light that cannot be hidden (see Matt. 5:13-16). Isaiah echoes this same sentiment: these places will be barren “until the Spirit from on high is poured out on us. Then the desert will become an orchard and the orchard will seem like a forest. Then justice will inhabit the wilderness, and righteousness will dwell in the orchard.” When the Spirit of God comes upon us, it will be quite evident in how we live. A tree is known by the fruit that it bears (see Matt. 7:15-20).

When God’s Spirit is poured out upon His people, then we will dwell in peace and the effect of righteousness will be quiet confidence forever. God’s Spirit wants to change the way we think, the way we respond to life’s challenges by faith. That means that believers must not respond to life the same way unbelievers respond. We must stop reacting naturally to life’s challenges and start responding by faith in Jesus to them. What does that really mean? It means we don’t act like everyone else, but we act like Him. It means we respond to hate by being lovely and loving. It means we respond to harsh persecution with prayer and forgiveness. We respond to violence by seeking peace and being kind.

In the end, Isaiah indicates that satisfaction with life can only be met by God. Happiness can only be found through what He desires in us and provides for us. We must never grow complacent but continually seek the godliness He demonstrated for us and demands of us. Complacency kills…

But don’t miss this, the godliness He demands of us can only be achieved through the power of His Spirit overwhelming us and indweling us. We are NEVER righteous in ourselves, we are only righteous in Him and the result will be peace, a quiet confidence forever. Then, and only then, will we dwell in a peaceful place, in safe and secure dwellings with Him as the foundation of life.

This isn’t just about being spiritual or religious. This is about being radically changed by the Spirit of the living God. This is about being dead and suddenly taking a deep breath and being alive, for REAL! Our culture often ridicules the religious term “born again”, but that’s exactly what Jesus said must happen to us! We will never see the kingdom of God unless we are “born again.” When Jesus told Nicodemus those words, Nicodemus was confused. “How can a man enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born again?” Jesus replied, “No, no, no, no! You misunderstand. Unless someone is born of water (physically) and the Spirit (spiritually) he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

This isn’t about just what you believe with your head, this is about you believe deeply, in your heart. Deeply enough to motivate you to take radical steps. To leave old, comfortable ways behind and step out into the realm of faith. To see and believe what can’t be seen with physical sight but you know to be more real and more true than anything you can see with your physical eyes.

If you will trust God in this and seek Him, seek Him with everything that is in you, then you will not be disappointed. You will find Him and He will fill you with His Spirit and you too will find that peaceful place, that secure dwelling where He abides. Just trust Him, and stop being complacent. Complacency kills…