From Comfort to Carelessness: The Subtle Path to Complacency

Can to much comfort be dangerous?

We obviously know that suffering can be dangerous, and it is a reality. Is it possible to much comfort could also be dangerous. There is thing called the region data paradox which is this if you must travel less than a mile you will walk but if you must travel more than a mile you will drive. The paradox which is the paradox you can travel faster going two miles than one mile or you travel three miles in less time than one mile. The ideal is that if we only act when things is that when we only act when there is a certain level of discomfort or badness then feeling better can feel worse than what worse feels. The ideal is a personal can be miserable for a month and the person can say I need to get help and act. You could feel blah, and my job is not bad but not so bad and my relationship and not bad but why make it better and not bad and not to change and our tendency is comfort breeds compliancy. Things are not so bad I need to change them. I am comfort breeds compliancy, and I am satisfied with the way things are, and I am not willing to change them. We know that suffering can be uncomfortable but so can discomfort.

The second reading today St. Paul to Timothy and it is all about dangers of comfort. Paul says to Timothy we have brought nothing into the world, and we should not be able to take anything out of the world. If we have food and clothing, we need to be content. Be content with what you have because those who are rich are falling into temptation and a trap and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge them into ruin and destruction. Wanting to be rich can plunge them into ruin and destruction and he goes on to say for the love of money is the root of all evils and some people for the desires of it have strayed from the faith and pierced themselves with so many pains and so many people are willing to indulge in many things and give up their faith and he begins todays reading, but you O man of God pursue righteousness, faith and love and patience and gentleness and compete well for the faith. Here is the temptation we all have in wanting to pursue comfort and St. Paul is saying that is a common temptation but a dangerous temptation. It can dominate and it can become the thing we live for and the thing we pursue and again scripture does not say having money, it says the love of money. Perhaps you do not fall into that category. Great! Sometimes wealth though is subjective, and I am poor and would rather be middle class now. Suppose you were the richest man in 1916. The richest man then would not have air conditioners, conditions and there would not be heat. It would take months to travel to Europe and back, there is no overnight delivery, no radio or entertainment unless you went to a concert. You may want a limo with a deluxe with a driver and would be nice and it would break down more than your cheap car, but someone is driving me and yeah, but you cannot text saying you are running late, and your phone is attached to the wall, and it does not have a camera on it. Medical care would be very poor and for example, Calvin Coolidge’s son died from a blister he got from playing tennis on the white house grounds. Would I swape places or would I rather than me and most of us are wealthier than the vast majority of people that ever lived. We are wealthier than every human being that ever lived. Are we grateful because complacency can be dangerous.

The Rich Man in the Gospel became complacent. What lead him into that? What caused his heart to be so dull? It was his wealth and his wardrobe that did it to him. He dressed in purple and in fine linen and eat sumptuously and purple and fine line seems odd to us and if you are wearing purple have to fear. In the day of Jesus purple die was rare and very expensive. Of course, he dinned eat day and, in that culture, would have been just for a few and he dinned sumptuously, and the parable is a parable about the danger of wealth, and it can wrap around our hearts and makes us dull and insensitive.

In the first reading we hear, Woe to the complacent in Zion to those whose comfort has dulled their hearts. Woe to those who lie in their beds of Ivory which does not sound that comfortable presumably their mattress over the bed of ivory stretched out on their couches while others are suffering. They drink wine from bowls and that is a lot of wine. Wealth, luxury and comfort tend to dull the soul. They make us less attentive sensitive to the things of God and to the poor. It is hard to be sensitive to the things of God when we are indulging the flesh. The more luxurious the life the more the risk to the souls attentiveness, which is why the Church has such a strong tradition of fasting, retreats, almsgiving and we engage in these things is to express repentance but to make sure the things of the world do not wrap around our hearts and make us insensitive to the things of God.

The rich man provides a cautionary tale to two things in our culture the danger in our comfort, and we live in a very comfortable situation, and the temptation is to be insensitive to those in need. None of us have the situation of having Lazarus at the doorstep we have people in our lives that need our attention and care and perhaps we have neglected them.

The irony of the age of communication is the loneliness that people are experiencing we are more connected virtually and less connected in a human manner. Whose is Lazarus in your life that needs your attention and perhaps have neglected. Lastly, this parable addresses one of our cultures principles goals the carefree life and not to have any worries and concerns. The message of the carefree life is behind all the advertising and promotions. The problem is carefree typically means careless. The more comfort we have the more we become dull and careless, and we settle and compromising then striving for greater spiritual things. The more comfortable we become the more carefree we become and focused on things of the world than the things of God. It is better to have many concerns and cares and bring those to God than to be inattentive, insensitive and carefree to the things of God. Where have we allowed comfort to dull us and keep us from prayers and reading scripture and from striving to grow spiritually. Where have we preferred comfort to holiness. One important thing to do is little sacrifices each day for Jesus, for example, giving up TV for a day, fasting for a day, putting your phone away for a day, a retreat, daily Scripture reading and prayer. Most important it is those that are spiritual attentive and free from worldly things who are free and who anticipate the one coming back from the dead and it is they alone who will rejoice when arrives. May we be among their number.