“The only true antidote to the scourge of self-complacency is a deep encounter with God’s love for each of us as we are.”
I was discerning my priestly and religious vocation when I spoke to a priest about how spiritual reading and meditation on the word of God had inflamed me with holy desires and sustained me in my vocation journey. He scoffed and told me that he had completely given up such reading and meditation since he was ordained a priest. He had performed such practices faithfully as a seminarian but he gave that all up when he was ordained to focus on priestly ministry.
I wondered how we can avoid becoming self-satisfied if we do not have time to meditate on the word of God. How can we face our deficiencies and our areas of conversion when we do not read spiritual books and learn from the saints and others before us? How can we know the areas where God is inviting us grow in our love and discipleship when we do not allow Him space and time to speak to our hearts?
How can a priest administer the sacraments with fervent joy when he has lost touch with the mysteries of the faith because of a lack of serious meditation? How can we grow and mature in our spiritual lives without this hard work of letting God’s words of love and example challenge our laxities and self-deception? Is it possible to follow Jesus Christ faithfully without striving to grow in our prayer life? How can we be strengthened by divine grace when we have no time for deep prayer? Is it possible to be engaged in today’s struggle and still keep our eyes on eternity without serious meditation on God’s word? I took my conversation with this priest as God’s warning to me that even the gift of the priesthood can make me complacent.
This is why St. Paul reminds Timothy that he must not become self-satisfied in his status as a “man of God” but also strive to attain and practice Christlike virtues, “But you, man of God, pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. Compete well for the faith. Lay hold of eternal life, to which you were called when you made the noble confession in the presence of many witnesses.” Timothy is called to prepare for the coming of the Lord Jesus by his constant striving to become like Jesus. He must also refuse any complacency in keeping the commandments, “Keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearance of the Our Lord Jesus Christ.”(1Tim 6:11-16) He must not fall into complacency because of his ordination as a bishop.
The rich man in the parable of Lazarus and the rich man did not end up in hell after his life of affluence simply because he was rich, ate well, and dressed in luxury. He was damned because the good things that he received from God made him complacent. He failed to respond to the many invitations to grow in charity towards Lazarus at his gate because he was busy enjoying his wealth and pleasures. There was no attempt on his side to work harder to meet the needs of the wretched at his door. In his complacency, he was unconcerned about Lazarus’ woes though he had the means to alleviate it.
Lazarus, on his part, gained heavenly life because he faced his poverty with patient trust in God. Though he could not find satisfaction in his present condition, he looked forward to his heavenly reward even as he lived in dire need here on earth. He did not slack in his endurance till the very end of his life. Abraham would use him as an example to the rich man of steadfast trust in God, “My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus received what was bad; but now he is comforted here whereas you are tormented.”(Lk 16:19-31)
The prophet Amos also had strong words for the complacent leaders and elite of his time, “Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts: Woe to the complacent in Zion! Lying upon beds of ivory, stretched comfortably on their couches, they eat lambs taken from the flock, and calves from the stall…! Yet, they are not made ill by the collapse of Joseph.”(Am 6:1,4-7) They are so busy enjoying the blessings of the land that they are not bothered at all about their country being overrun by invaders.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, there are so many things that can make us complacent in our spiritual lives. These prevent us from making any serious and sustained effort to grow and mature. They may even be good things that God has blessed us with like a job promotion, a call to ministry, a new and exciting relationship, a success in our endeavors, etc.
Sometimes, the painful experiences and the hurts of life can kill our resolve to grow in our commitments to God and make us satisfied with our status quo. The experience of sickness, loss of loved ones, or financial difficulties can take away our drive to give all for the love of God.
We can even become complacent through our sinful choices and tendencies. Instead of facing our sexual sins and failures with the grace of God and laboring for our conversion, we give in to self-complacency and begin to demand that the Church change her teaching and attitudes towards homosexuality. We do not make any serious attempt to change and mature in our discipleship but we demand that the Holy bible, Catechism of the Catholic Church, Church teaching and everything else should change to accommodate our lifestyle. This is the crass type of self-complacency that brings nothing but woe to the individuals and to the Church as a whole.
The only true antidote to the scourge of self-complacency is a deep encounter with God’s love for each of us as we are. There is no iota of self-complacency in Christ and His love will always challenge us and move us to grow and be better disciples, “For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all.”(2Cor 5:14)
We must encounter this love of God in Jesus Christ as often as possible. We begin to encounter this liberating love when we listen to His words in the scriptures and allow His grace to move us deeply. We have a deeper experience of this love as we open our hearts to Christ in the sacraments of the Eucharist and Reconciliation.
It is the light of God’s love that shows us the hidden areas of self-satisfaction in our lives and move us to reject them. This is the love that challenges us in our mediocrity, moves us to struggle with our sins, and to make effort to grow in Christlikeness. This is the love that will not allow us to compromise on our deficiencies but to face them with hope and courage. This is the love that moves us to strive to become more and more like Jesus Christ until He returns in glory.
This is the love that Jesus offers us in each Eucharist.
We have no reason to ever succumb to complacency.
Glory to Jesus!!! Honor to Mary!!!
Amos 6:1, 4-7; 1Tim 6:11-16; Lk 16:19-31
Image credit: Titian, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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About the author:
Fr. Nnamdi Moneme, OMV, is a Roman Catholic priest and religious of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary currently serving in the Philippines. He teaches theology and is a seminary formator for candidates to the priesthood and religious life. Father also gives Ignatian retreats and serves as spiritual director to many of the lay, religious, and clergy in the area.
He earned his first degree in Physics from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria. Ordained in 2009, he studied at St. John’s seminary, in Brighton, Massachusetts. Father has an STL/MA in Moral Theology from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines.
Father Moneme blogs at https://toquenchhisthirst.wordpress.com/.
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