April 10, 2023

Zephaniah 1: 12 “At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its dregs, who think, ‘The Lord will do nothing, either good or bad.’” (NIV)

It is a tragic error to assume that because God has not smitten the wicked, He has changed from a God of justice to one of easy-going tolerance.*

In this passage, Zephaniah is warning the nation of Judah that they will not be able to hide from God’s searchlight of judgment. The Lord is not happy with them and he is going to punish them for their great sin of . . . complacency! What is complacency and what’s so bad about it?

Being complacent is like being satisfied, only with negative overtones: smugness and self-righteousness. In the case of the people of Judah, they were content to claim belief in God while having no relationship with him. They didn’t know him; they didn’t worship him or acknowledge him as Lord. And they were okay with that.

How different is our society today? When God shines his light on us, what will he find? Even among those who profess to be Christians, he will find many who are tolerant of all religions – “We’re all going to the same place, we’re just taking different paths.” Do you think God is tolerant of that attitude?

Jesus said, “I am the way . . . No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14: 6) You can’t come to the Father through Jesus if you don’t come close enough to know him; to worship him; to acknowledge him as Lord. Anything less is complacency. Don’t make God mad by rejecting his Son.

Religion was once a conviction. Now it is a taste.*