God wants us on fire for him. He wants us to passionately love the things he loves and desires for our lives. When you meet a man whose heart is listless and unmotivated, that should trigger alarm bells: “Woe to the listless heart that has no faith, for such will have no protection. Woe to you who have lost the strength to endure; what will you do at the Lord’s visitation?” (Sirach 2:13-14) This condition is also known as complacency, accepting all things just as they are, not having any energy or passion to create or make the world a better place. In this phase of living one is existing to breathe, eat, sleep and repeat these activities daily without reflection nor inquisitiveness upon the deeper meaning of life. The listless heart is a tragic sin; people in such states have accepted material circumstances as they are, believing that Spirit cannot conquer material conditions, suffering, poverty and misery. People in this state of life cannot fathom that God can make things better through His Power, our faith and actions. In the end, this laziness and complacency draws God to spit us out of his presence: “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” (Rev 3:15-17) Will you risk being spit out of God’s mouth by sleeping through each day? The encouragement in Ephesians 5:14 telling us to wake up is centered around the light of Christ that shines on us when we have the courage to find our God-given purpose in life. These passages in scripture are here to remind us that there is more to life but few take that path; instead they are like Henry David Thoreau wrote, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”
God Hates Lukewarm
