will this be the day that complacency kills
“Success breeds complacency. Complacency breeds failure. Only the paranoid survive.”
Andy Grove
"You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober."
1 Thessalonians 5:5-6
I was recently in a prayer meeting with a man known for his deep walk with God. When praying through the Lord’s prayer, “lead us not into temptation” and “deliver us from evil,” he got after it. He rebuked, resisted, declared, and denounced the plans of the evil one with a violent intensity that I have rarely witnessed. After the meeting, I asked him how often he prays with this kind of fervor.
He looked at me kind of incredulously and replied...
“Every day, man. We are in the middle of a war. Pastors and leaders are being taken out left and right. You need radical vigilance in seasons like this.”
Radical vigilance.
You don’t hear men talking about that much these days.
You hear about burnout, anxiety, frustration, and fear, but rarely the need to get upstream and resist these forces that are climbing the walls of our hearts.
I shared my experience with some of our team, and one of the pastors noted that it reminded him of his friend in the Marines. When stationed overseas, they had a sign on the wall that said, “Will this be the day that complacency kills?”
Things that destroy our lives often happen in small moments. We get complacent, and they sneak in.
A pastor I know blew his life up with an affair that caused untold heartache and damage to his family and church. It began when he got an email from a woman he met at a church leaders conference. That day started like any other, but that day ended up being the day that complacency killed.
Satan does not fight fair. He is more like a terrorist than an enemy waging conventional war. Luke’s gospel tells us, "When the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.”
Complacency gives the enemy the moment he seeks.
THE DISCIPLINE OF WATCHFULNESS
The Puritans used to talk about watchfulness, the long-forgotten doctrine of diligent attention. We need to recover this discipline. But what exactly is it?
Far from a paranoid anxiety, true watchfulness is the disciplined practice of staying spiritually awake to the reality of God, your own heart, and the subtle forces shaping you every single day. It’s refusing to drift, refusing spiritual numbness, and actively guarding your heart against the quiet assaults of temptation, distraction, and compromise.
You could summarize it in Hebrews 2:1, which says, “We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.”
Our culture offers a false form of vigilance centered on security, achievement, and control. But Jesus redirects us: "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matthew 26:41). True vigilance isn't about external performance but interior attentiveness and humble dependence.
THE DANGER OF THE COMPLACENT MAN
Military history illustrates the devastating consequences of complacency. Pearl Harbor, the fall of Singapore, Custer's defeat at Little Bighorn, and Stalin's denial before Operation Barbarossa each represent a failure of vigilance with catastrophic results. These mirror the spiritual catastrophes that can result from our own failure to remain alert to the realities that shape our souls.
Scripture maps out the terrain where our vigilance is most needed:
Vigilance in prayer: Jesus says, "Watch and pray," because prayer is not merely a spiritual practice but the fundamental posture of dependence that keeps us awake to God's presence (Matthew 26:41).
Vigilance against evil: Peter warns, "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour"(1 Peter 5:8). This isn't primitive superstition but recognition of the reality of evil, both personal and systemic, that seeks our destruction.
Vigilance for Christ's return: "Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come" (Mark 13:33). This eschatological vigilance isn't about apocalyptic speculation but about living with the awareness that our choices have eternal significance and Christ may appear at any moment.
Vigilance of heart: "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it" (Proverbs 4:23). In Hebrew anthropology, the heart is the center of our being—the core of our thoughts, feelings, and will. What we allow to take root shapes everything we become.
Vigilance in leadership: God told Ezekiel, "I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel" (Ezekiel 33:7). Those entrusted with the care of others bear a particular responsibility for vigilance on behalf of the community. Woe to us if we fall asleep on the wall.
SHAKING THE HEART AWAKE
One of the best ways to confront complacency and cultivate watchfulness is to probe our hearts. Here are some questions I have been asking myself to stay alert to the dangers around me:
Where am I saying, “That could never happen to me,” because of pride or overconfidence?
Where am I currently dropping my guard because I feel exhausted, frustrated, or spiritually worn out?
What things am I now justifying or allowing into my life that I used to strongly resist? (Particular shows, standards, habits)
Where am I ignoring clear warnings—from friends, mentors, or God—that I know I should take seriously?
In what areas am I feeling spiritually numb or indifferent, indicating a loss of vigilance?
Where is compromise slowly creeping in, disguised as convenience or entitled reward?
Am I letting any form of resentment or disappointment cause me to lower my spiritual defenses?
Where am I relying too heavily on past spiritual victories instead of staying alert today?
Am I hiding struggles from others out of fear, shame, or pride, instead of bringing them into the light for accountability?
To be clear, true vigilance is not about anxious striving or rigid moral perfectionism. It is about living with a contemplative awareness that keeps us present to God, to ourselves, and the world around us. It is about refusing the cultural narcotics that dull our spiritual senses and diminish our capacity for wonder, gratitude, and love.
As Kevin DeYoung puts it, “Being a child of God means confidence, but it never means complacency.”
THE GIFT OF A VIGILANT MAN
Brothers, the world doesn't need more sleepwalking men going through the motions of life and faith. The world needs men who are awake to God, to themselves, to others, and to the beauty and brokenness all around us. Men who haven't anesthetized themselves against pain, wonder, or holy discontent. Men who are vigilant not out of fear but out of love.
In the first of his Four Quartets, T.S. Eliot describes the state of so many men today:
"Over the strained time-ridden faces
Distracted from distraction by distraction
Filled with fancies and empty of meaning
Tumid apathy with no concentration
Men and bits of paper, whirled by the cold wind…"
I refuse to be distracted from distraction by distraction.
I want to wake up.
To watch from the wall.
To fend off the lukewarmness coming for my heart.
To resist the evil one so he has to flee.
Jesus warned us that we would be sent like sheep among wolves. He told us we would need the shrewdness of the serpent and the gentleness of doves.
May God give us all the grace to hold the tension between peaceful trust and radical vigilance, and may He give us the grace to be men wide awake.
Thanks for reading.
Cheers.
Jon.
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Discussion Questions:
Scripture says, “Let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober” (1 Thess. 5:6). Where are you currently numbing yourself through distraction, entertainment, or comfort instead of staying spiritually alert?
Spiritual watchfulness involves guarding your heart from subtle forces shaping you. What specific forces, such as frustration, exhaustion, or entitlement, are causing you to drop your guard right now?
Complacency is subtle, slow, and often hidden from view. Is there an area in your life where you’re ignoring clear warnings from friends, mentors, or God Himself? What would it take for you to bring this fully into the light and regain vigilance? Are you willing to do that right now?
Ezekiel was called a watchman for Israel, responsible for seeing danger and speaking boldly. Where have you stayed silent when you should’ve spoken up, either in your own life or someone else’s?
Radical vigilance means holding tension between peaceful trust and fierce watchfulness. Where in your life do you most need God’s grace to awaken you, protect you, or strengthen your resolve right now?
