So, what does it mean to be comfortable? Let’s look:
comfortable (kum’fər-tə-bəl, kumf’tə-bəl) adj.
- Providing physical comfort: a comfortable chair.
- Free from stress or anxiety; at ease: not comfortable about the interview.
- Producing feelings of ease or security: a comfortable person; a comfortable evening at home.
- Sufficient to provide financial security: comfortable earnings.
I think we all can easily understand what that word means. There’s nothing I love more than coming home after work, kicking my sneakers off and plopping in my couch, remote in hand ready to cue up my TiVo DVR to watch whatever television goodness it has recorded for me. My couch is a comfortable place for me to sink in; my home is where I can be at ease away from the demands of work; when the television is on, work has been largely forgotten, so there’s minimal stress and anxiety; and I have enough money to comfortably pay for my TiVo and cable without undue financial hardship. I think it’s safe to say when I’m on my couch, eyes glued to the TV, I’m very comfortable.
Comfort: it’s not a bad thing, but I’ve come to realize, like McDonald’s, it’s not always a good thing either. Last week, I talked about how we tend to divide our lives and ourselves in zones. Rather than have Christ rule everything in our life, we oftentimes wrongly zone Him separately from everything else, relegating Him and our Christian beliefs and duties to a place where we can keep it generally contained.
Why do we do this? Because it’s comfortable. Think about it: how often do you preach about Christ to your co-workers? to that Starbucks barista you see every morning? to your atheist cousins? Why not? It’s because it would be too uncomfortable to do so. They might think we’re crazy for our beliefs. They might look at us funny and quietly move away. Or even worse, we might get stage fright and embarrass ourselves by stumbling over our words. They might get angry and resist, leaving us speechless. Things might change between you and the other person forever. It’s too hard. It’s easier to talk about Christ with our Christian friends at church and in our small group because they understand what it’s about.
So, what happens? We don’t say anything. We remain quiet. We smile and pay for our mocha frappucino. We allow our co-workers to mock and deny Christ. I’ve done it. I don’t like it, but I’ve done it. I’ve chosen to being comfortable more times than I’d care to admit. And I sometimes wonder, did I cost someone a chance to know Christ, a chance to get forgiven, a chance for eternal life for the sake of being comfortable?
That thought makes me extremely uncomfortable.
– Matt
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Comfort Makes Me Uncomfortable, Part I
January 22, 2009
Calvary
Comments Off on Comfort Makes Me Uncomfortable, Part I
Matt
So, what does it mean to be comfortable? Let’s look:
comfortable (kum’fər-tə-bəl, kumf’tə-bəl) adj.
I think we all can easily understand what that word means. There’s nothing I love more than coming home after work, kicking my sneakers off and plopping in my couch, remote in hand ready to cue up my TiVo DVR to watch whatever television goodness it has recorded for me. My couch is a comfortable place for me to sink in; my home is where I can be at ease away from the demands of work; when the television is on, work has been largely forgotten, so there’s minimal stress and anxiety; and I have enough money to comfortably pay for my TiVo and cable without undue financial hardship. I think it’s safe to say when I’m on my couch, eyes glued to the TV, I’m very comfortable.
Comfort: it’s not a bad thing, but I’ve come to realize, like McDonald’s, it’s not always a good thing either. Last week, I talked about how we tend to divide our lives and ourselves in zones. Rather than have Christ rule everything in our life, we oftentimes wrongly zone Him separately from everything else, relegating Him and our Christian beliefs and duties to a place where we can keep it generally contained.
Why do we do this? Because it’s comfortable. Think about it: how often do you preach about Christ to your co-workers? to that Starbucks barista you see every morning? to your atheist cousins? Why not? It’s because it would be too uncomfortable to do so. They might think we’re crazy for our beliefs. They might look at us funny and quietly move away. Or even worse, we might get stage fright and embarrass ourselves by stumbling over our words. They might get angry and resist, leaving us speechless. Things might change between you and the other person forever. It’s too hard. It’s easier to talk about Christ with our Christian friends at church and in our small group because they understand what it’s about.
So, what happens? We don’t say anything. We remain quiet. We smile and pay for our mocha frappucino. We allow our co-workers to mock and deny Christ. I’ve done it. I don’t like it, but I’ve done it. I’ve chosen to being comfortable more times than I’d care to admit. And I sometimes wonder, did I cost someone a chance to know Christ, a chance to get forgiven, a chance for eternal life for the sake of being comfortable?
That thought makes me extremely uncomfortable.
– Matt
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