It is so easy sometimes to be comfortable with our surrounding. Especially when we do the same thing over and over again. Things get so easy, so normal, so under controlled, and boring. This includes our job, school, people we know(friends), our spiritual life and even going to church and church activities.
I would like to share what I feel and think about this issue which applies more to church and spiritually but also could be related to job and school. If someone were to complain about going to church, distance going and tiredness, I think I should be the one that has the most reasonable reason to do so. Every Firday, leaving my house here around 8 p.m latest, taking an hour ride in the bus, reaching midvalley or KL sentral, taking KTM to Tasik Selatan which either someone would gracefully fetch me or I will just take the cab to church. Whole process eating up about 2 hours in total of a super long of sitting in the bus, could be standing if the bus is full, but rarely, catching the KTM and waiting for at least 15 to 30 minutes and we all know how on time can KTM be. If lucky being able to force myself into the train at that time, and I usually do, like a sardin in a can, the ride will take 15 minutes or so to Tasik Selatan. All in all about 2 hours in total. OR Saturday, waking up at 5 in the morning to catch the 5.40 a.m bus so that I can make it by 7 a.m to Tasik Selatan for basketball, it will be another 1 hour ride to Midvalley KTM station at 6.40 a.m in the morning, hoping that the train will come on time so I can reach just nice by 7 at the Tasik Selatan station so that no one has to wait for me. But it never happens, for your info, I always reach later than 7. I am really thankful to all that so willingly offers to fetch me everytime. Anyways, this is my journey to church every single week. Don't I deserve to complain the most? Don't I have reasonable reasons to say, hey, I don't think I will come this weekend cause I am so tired? I am not saying all this to boast or to want praises, I do not want them, but to encourage.
If there wasn't a greater purpose, do you think I would wanna go through all this just to come to church on the weekends? Church service is only on Sunday morning anyways, why all the trouble right if I do not see the greater value of everytime behind this? If I were to say I got complacent of all this and eventually bored of it, I am sure it is kinda acceptable right? Well here is how I look at all this. I always picture God, or could it be He really is, like a Lover. Imagine with me a couple courting. The guy always tries to impress the girl, but he has to do it in a way that will not make her get bored by the 1st year or years to come as they date. So he has to hold back many things in order to keep the intensity there between them. If by the first month, he says, 'I love you oh how can I live without you', or, 'you are my sunshine that brights up my days', and buys her a car, a house. That is just the first month, imagine how will it be like after a year? Do you think a bunglo will still work to impress her? Hmm, I don't think so. This is how I imagine my relationship with God is, the only difference is God will never run out of things and wonders to impress me with about Himself. Bit by bit He keeps showing me and impressing me about Himself that is just so everwhelming at times that keeps me going and going. When I think I have known it all and felt it all, He just blows my mind with something greater about Himself. He doesn't give me all at once, so I won't be bored, or I would maybe die if I knew it all at once :P But yeah, this is what that really drives me to keep pushing through all the obstacles and circumstances and focus on what He has already done and search for what is yet to come.
HOWEVER, I will not deny that there will be times where you are just so bored and tired of doing it anymore. And God just doesn't seem to be there when you needed Him most. But then, what is faith if there isn't actions follow by it? I think at times like this faith comes the strongest. Knowing that God is still there though you feel so far from Him, and keep pressing on towards the goal. I think we as Christians should learn to be more selfless, which I am struggling to be myself. Sometimes, what does it really matter how we feel? What we think? I mean if Jesus Christ has died for us on the Cross so selflessly without even complaining anything, why are we complaining about every tiny thing? Why care so much that you are angry with this or with that? Who cares? Isn't our main purpose is to serve others and being a shining light for what Jesus has done for us? So yeah, when we are angry, when we are jealous about something, when we envy, why indulge in those thoughts? Move on, thinking about it will never change anything or make anymore feel better, even God is not please at all with all this, so forget about it and just move on. I know in the end we are all still humans and we still have this kinda feelings and I am not asking you to be a perfect person, but it is something to work towards to.
I think I am kinda running out of the topic, my main point here is, complacency shouldn't be something that we feel in our Christian life, our serving. Whenever you feel that, tell yourself to stay focus. God has something new for you every morning. Times when you really feel dry and that He hasn't been there, that is when your faith must play it's role to help you stand firm. Prayer meetings, homefellowships, youth meetingss, choir practices, worship practices, setting up stage, doing multimedia, doing sounds mixing, playing instruments, singing, worship leading, packing up, Sunday church services, lunch, all this can be so routined, so boring. Whenever you think this, remember just one thing, the purpose behind all this, that God may have all the glory. Do not think that being complacent in just packing up will make no difference. It does. You are packing up you Father in Heaven's dwelling place, and when you pack up, the next event could go on and the next event will glorify God. So even then packing up that we think it's just a simple job is actually another God glorifying job. In everything we do, do not be complacent cause we know that by us not being complacent and us just ignoring that complacent feeling will give God all the glory, and that is what should be the desires of our hearts as Christians.
I was thinking throughout the week how should I end this post and I finally decided to end it with a short illustration to show how easy it is that we can be complacent without even noticing it. Here is how it goes : A boy one day was having a hard time looking for a toilet and he was in a bad need to 'ahem', you know what. He searched all over and finally found a toilet, but the thing is that toilet is terribly dirty and smelly. His options were only two, that is to force himself to use the toilet and get it ovfer and done with, or doing his business in his pants. He chose using the toilet of course. He forced himself in there, and the first minute was awful, no kidding. He almost puked. The second minute wasn't as bad as the first but still bad. it kept getting better by the minute, and by the fifth minute he was already immune to the smell.
That is how fast we can get immune to complacency. Do not be that guy that says, just another minute here cause it feels good and I 'need it'. Cause by the time you realize it, you will be much deeper and far away from you have expected. Never compromise even one one week, one night, one hour or even one minute of feeling good with eternal joy that you will have when you are with Father..
