( 7 Ways to Determine if you’re content, complacent, or just plain crazy)
Has your mom ever had to yell at you to “watch where you are walking!”? Kids just have a tendency to walk rather cluelessly at times, and they usually have the bumps and bruises to prove it. We “adults” are not much different when it comes to how we navigate through our days, looking back over our shoulders at the past, and tip toeing to try to see way off into the future while ignoring the present. Then of course there’s the kid who’s walking pace makes a snail look like Hussein Bolt, and the adult who’s complacency causes the same kind of stagnation. If you’re always looking back chances are you’re going to trip on something, and if you’re looking too far ahead the same fate awaits. Our safest bet is to be where we are, and to be content while there. Reflection is great, and planning ahead is fantastic, but not at the expense of mishandling the present, and slipping on strategically placed banana peels.
The past, and the future are clouds that often block today’s light.
Content, Complacent, or crazy? You decide.
1. Am I indifferent to potential problems, even if small? Do I believe staring blankly at a problem or task long enough without blinking will bring about a miraculous solution, or result? I sometimes apply this behavior to the laundry bag in my closet. Crazy! Ecclesiastes 10:18 Through laziness, the rafters sag; because of idle hands, the house leaks.
2. Does life at the end of my 5 year plan look exactly like it does today? Complacent. 1 Timothy 4:15 Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all.
3. Do I sometimes choke on water from singing in the rain too enthusiastically? Content. Acts 16:25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
4. Do I take unapproved naps while at work? Crazy! Proverbs 24:33 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest- and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.
5. Do I talk about myself in third person? Complacent. Proverbs 27:2 Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.
6. If all I had to eat were a few gold-fish snacks and the end slice of bread that everyone always skips when they make sandwiches, and as soon as I tucked the napkin into my shirt collar… God asked me to share it, and I did although reluctantly at first but eventually cheerfully. Content. Mark 6:42,43 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketful of broken pieces of bread and fish.
7. If the people laughing at your dream sound like a sold out audience at a massive comedy show in a major city coliseum but you still believe. Content. Genesis 37:5 Now when Joseph dreamed. And when he told his dream to his brothers, they hated him more.
We all have the tendency to sometimes be a little crazy, and or complacent, but let’s be mindful and work toward being content in all things as Paul writes in Philippians 4:12,13 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all things through him who gives me strength.
A great way to do this is to bloom where you are planted. Trust that your time in that particular season will be fruitful and that ultimately God will continue to lead you to exactly the place he has planned for you. Sometimes we are so eager to escape from the unpleasant places we find ourselves in that we miss the opportunity to be a blessing and to be blessed right there in that place. We all have dreams, and I encourage you to chase your dreams responsibly, persistently, patiently, and most important prayerfully. Lastly lets consider the result of Jesus blooming where he was planted, although he desired to be alleviated of the burden he bore, in that moment he said “not my will but yours be done”. Luke 22:42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”
Be encouraged.
livefromthekitchentable 