The Problem With Comfortable Couches
February 8, 2010
Many men have perfected the art of watching the Superbowl. In fact, Id go as far as saying that some have it down to a science. From the ideal spiciness for the nacho cheese dip to pigs being snug in their blankets, they carefully craft every last detail so that when kickoff starts they can retreat to their man cave. The goal is to create an impenetrable comfortable fortress with all snacks and soda at arms length. For a few hours, they tune in to the big game while tuning everyone else out. They sink into the couch with chicken wing in hand and all is right with the world. That is until tomorrow morning when they are chewing antacids like candy to relieve the massive amount of heartburn.
Even though they achieved “perfection” while watching the big game, they wound up paying for it in the end. Considering the way they crafted their surroundings, it was inevitable that indigestion was sure to follow. This harkens back to the principle that your life is perfectly designed to get the results you are achieving. Just like the couch you sunk into while watching the Superbowl, many of you have become comfortable with your daily routine.
Yet, the thing with comfortable couches and a comfortable lifestyle is that they dont encourage one to get up and move. Instead you sit and let the life youve been given pass you by. The heartburn you eventually feel is not caused by one too many mini-pizzas. It is an indication that being “comfortable” has caused a toll on your heart and the person you are becoming.
Over this past week we encouraged you to take a look at the way you arrange your life by examining what you devote your time towards. Hopefully, this opened your eyes to the places and things that ultimately garner your attention and focus. We wanted you to able to see what you were up against in changing the tide towards growth. The next step is penetrating your fortress of status quo by creating disciplines that encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and put your one word into action.
Throughout the book of Proverbs, we see how discipline leads to wisdom (3:11-13), knowledge (12:1), understanding (15:32), and a way to life (6:23). The point of disciplines is to do something you can do in order to do something you cant do. Disciplines must remain disciplines for a period of time. This consistency enables them to become habits and ultimately reflexes. Eventually, they are dissolved into your character. Change cannot and does not occur without struggle. We need to be proactive in the way we structure our lives. This entails engaging in the process of formation by establishing disciplines that will help us pursue Gods heart through our one word. Instead of sitting on the sidelines and watching, disciplines put you in the game by stretching your character.
- Is there a part inside of you that doubts your One Word will ever dissolve into your character becoming a natural reflex or response? What do you believe drives this fear? Is your answer more a reflection on your own ability or Gods adequacy to evoke change in your life?
- SPIRITUAL, PHYSICAL, MENTAL/EMOTIONAL, PROFESSIONAL, RELATIONSHIPS, FAMILY — this is a list of areas in life where you should consider establishing a discipline. Using this list, come up with a tangible way that you can exercise your One Word (i.e. spiritual – spend 15 minutes each day journaling). Establishing a discipline in these areas of your life is a practical way to begin a path towards growth using your word this year.
Are you looking for a way to keep your word in front of you all year long? Register for a My One Word account! One of the key features of a MOW account is an online Word Journal that allows you to capture your thoughts to reflective questions like you see above. You can go back at any time to read your completed journals to see how God has been moving in your life through your word in 2010. If you already have an account, the questions from this blog have been posted to your Word Journal — log in to your account to start your Word Journal today!
comfort is not only physical but spiritual – i got too comfortable with the improvements in my marriage and in my search for gods peace. while lazing on too comfortable – things slipped backward. i didnt even want to admit they were slipping – now i have to continuously keep aware that if i am not prusuing god i am lazing and slipping.
By practicing over & over the things in my life I need to deal with, I believe it is possible. God takes one whom has a certain inadequacy and forms him or her into another person entirely different. He changes us all.
Discipline is not a word that most of us like to use unless it for someone else. We are a fast fix world, something that requires little work. Obedience is a form of discipline. we must obey the traffic laws or we must obey our parents or spouses. To do that requires discipline. This week I want to discipline myself to be obedient to Gods word in all areas of my life. I can only do that through prayer and meditation on His word.
I have faith that once I finish the assignment for the previous week, God will show me what areas I have become to comfortable about. It’s interesting that I suspect most of us already know the answer to this question.
I need to become the person that God wants me to become, I also need to be the angel that is always there to do what needs to be done to become a better person and get whats needs to be accomplished. I hope that makes sense.
just spent an hour writing out stuff and then lost it as my time ran out or something – bummer.
This really hit home. I’m getting what I’m getting in life because of how I’ve structured my life.
My life is so complicated because I made it this way. I never took the time to do one thing at a time or finished what I started until now. I have never been the type to beg for anything or expected things to be handed to me. The problem that I have is not knowing how to accept certain changes and believe that these changes needs to be accepted.
Fear is a big factor in our lives and we sometime run from things that we should stand and face. One way of doing so is to get out of our comfort zones and interact with others in order to maintain a respectable attitude and pleasurable way of living for ourselves.
Trusting and believing in GOD is one way to change the out comes in life for ourselves!
Yes accepting change is difficult, but it is a way to grow and enrich our lives! Many times I have been afraid of changes, but I need to remember that once I accepted them I realized it was beneficial and not so bad as I had feared.
The part of me that doubts my word will ever become a response is the part that fears out of my own insecurities. My word is ACTION and obviously it requires me to move, to take steps toward what I believe is God’s call. The scripture with this post truly spoke to me as my insecurities tell me that all criticism is negative. I should listen to it, chew on it and ACT on it. I’m not opposed to change, I’m just more resistant to ACT when it’s me having to make the changes…and that’s where God meets me, takes my hand and guides me.