The Catastrophic Consequences of Complacency

“They did not dislodge the Canaanites living in Gezer…”

Joshua 16:10

In the blink of an eye, God’s followers can succumb to spiritual complacency. In a moment, we can give in to a state that is apathetic to the moral decay surrounding us. So often we try to justify this unholy posture by reasoning that the good we have done has outweighed the bad. But when God says, “Be holy for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44), God has clearly set a bar that reveals half-hearted effort on our part will not satisfy Him. Throughout Scripture, God’s will and desire for humanity is made known, but somehow we tend to pick and choose that which we will obey. As a result, we treat God’s Word like it is a spiritual buffet, selecting the entrees best suited to our personal tastes. For instance, the Bible advocates the continual communal worship of God (Hebrews 10:25), which in modern-day evangelical congregations is observed on Sundays, but many people are quick to rationalize their church absenteeism by calling attention to the fact that Sundays are their day to relax or unwind. Furthermore, the Bible encourages God’s followers to invest time in studying His Word each and every day (Psalm 119:97), but many people routinely ignore Scripture, thus evading its life-changing, daily application.

 It is with this reflection, a reflection of how catastrophic spiritual complacency can be, that we review the events surrounding Joshua 16:10. Up until this point in Joshua’s account, God’s providential hand has been gloriously evident, particularly in the defeat of nations inhabiting the land of Canaan. In Joshua 6, Jericho’s walls supernaturally fell and the battle was over before it even began. In Joshua 8, the city of Ai was defeated through a masterful strategy designed by God. Per the book of Joshua, the work of the Israelites was great, but the blessing of God was greater still. The Lord had led the Hebrew people every step of the way and shown Himself faithful through His direct involvement. But when the Israelites amassed several military conquests, they let their guard down and exercised a lethargic spirit. Joshua 16:10 denotes that they did not rid the land of all the Canaanites.

 Why is this significant? I suppose there are multiple reasons why not ridding the land of Canaanites is significant, but the primary explanation I will focus on relates to the spiritual lifestyle that permeated the Canaanite citizens. In short, it was despicable. In Numbers 25:1-2, Scripture attests that Moabite women seduced some of the Israelite men, engaged in fornication, and influenced the Hebrew males to break from their worship of God and sacrifice to foreign gods. If this weren’t vile enough, the people in and around Canaan were notorious for placating their fake idols by burning their children alive in deplorable rituals (2 Kings 16:3). Taken together, a very dark canvas regarding the spiritual condition of the Canaanite people begins to form. A condition that if left to endure would eventually bring about an unrighteous temptation for God’s followers. And it did.  Interestingly enough, the Israelites vowed to completely destroy the Canaanite cities (Numbers 21:2). Unfortunately, this was a vow that they broke, as confirmed in Joshua 16:10. The subsequent result of this broken vow was that the Israelites, in time, would indulge in the very same heinous acts that God had decried multiple times over.

What is the primary take-away from this passage? What are we to learn from it? Well, for starters, doing God’s work and embracing His will should not be a casual, half-hearted effort. It demands total commitment and total dedication. The people of Israel cleared most of the towns in Canaan but seemingly gave up the pursuit for completing the mission in its entirety. This would later prove to be a disastrous choice. Whenever we allow negative elements or pressures to remain as a fixture in our lives we become vulnerable to a weakened resolve and a dishonorable character. Fire burns and, in a sense, if we freely surround ourselves with wicked individuals or lewd, corrupt behavior then we are playing with fire, spiritually speaking. It’s not that we should separate ourselves from the world altogether, but we must carefully ensure that our steps are in alignment with God’s truths and precepts.

 

Therefore, let us call out to God frequently, soak up His Word daily, and worship the Lord with fellow believers continually so that we will properly prevent succombing to the catastrophic state of complacency. The road to spiritual destruction is a short path, and often paved with good intentions. For that reason, we must firecely guard our heart and embolden it with the Word of God and the worship of God, both personally and corporately. May we not be categorized as complacent believers, but committed believers.