Lukewarmness and Complacency in the Christian Life

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The Martyrdom of Saint Cucuphas By Ayne Bru Documented in Catalonia 1500–1507

"I am coming soon; hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown...‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing; not knowing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked." Revelation 3 In our lives we can get caught somewhere between faith and doubt, love and apathy, and hope and despair. This can happen when our perspective of God becomes jaded and we lose motivation on our way to heaven. Instead of striving after heaven and loving God with every ounce of our being (cf. Matthew 22:37 referencing Deuteronomy 6:5).

In all ways, our enemies (our concupiscence, the culture of sin, and the demonic), work together for our demise in all ways they can. What must be our response? Definitely not complacency! Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 2094 lists the sins against God's love. 

"Indifference neglects or refuses to reflect on divine charity; it fails to consider its prevenient goodness and denies its power. Ingratitude fails or refuses to acknowledge divine charity and to return him a love for love. Lukewarmness is hesitation or negligence in responding to divine love; it can imply refusal to give oneself over to the prompting of charity. Acedia or spiritual sloth goes so far as to refuse the joy that comes from God and to be repelled by divine goodness. Hatred of God comes from pride. It is contrary to love of God, whose goodness it denies, and whom it presumes to curse as the one who forbids sins and inflicts punishments."
In our time the phrase "at least I have not killed anybody" is a nearly universal expression of moral apathy. When we are most lukewarm neither sin nor love are something significant, only what makes us comfortable. each of the sins listed above bears a fundamental expression of a lack of openness to God's love and even existence. Nothing is more distasteful to God than being impervious to his love and grace.

In conclusion, we have everything to lose by not trying and everything to gain by giving our best effort to let God's love and grace transform us. How? Love! At every moment, we are given the freedom to use as we see fit. Nothing has more potential for problems and yet can yield the greatest reward. The struggle against complacency is the hardest to overcome and it is often associated with pride. We think we are doing all we need to. This opens us up for many opportunities for our enemies to strike us in our blindness. Failing to pray is a failure to encounter God and his love, to prioritize contact with God over our trivial lives, and to recognize our infinite longing for God. We must realize at this point in the process of conversion that if God exists then the unbelievable becomes believable, suddenly nothing becomes more important than the many knowing of the Gospel in all its implications, and living in love is no longer an arbitrary way to live. If God does not exist then we are wasting our time. These two circumstances could not be more opposite. Martyrs do not die, not understanding what is important, why should you?


The Gospel is for all peoples,
would that we encounter it beyond the steeples.
When we choose what to believe,
is there a Church we would not leave?

We are called to act with intensity,
we cannot neglect God's generosity.
If we really believe what we do,
should it not be apparent in our actions too?

Are we marching to heaven?
Do we accept the world's leaven?
Do we have the pearl for which we would forsake all,
or don't we really think God is worth it all?


I am a created entity, not a person.

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