The danger of comfort in the Christian life is subtle but real. Many believers settle into a “safe” Christian routine: church on Sunday, quiet devotionals, avoiding controversy and otherwise living a relaxed life. Yet this comfort may be one of Satan’s most effective traps.
The life of a disciple of Christ is in stark contrast with this complacency. The narrow path is not a path of ease; it is a path that requires constant correction and refocusing on Jesus as the model for how we should walk.
When Christians become too comfortable, they cease to be a threat to the darkness in the world. They lose the radical edge of Jesus and stop speaking into pain or injustice. Scripture warns us about this kind of complacency: Isaiah condemns those who “sit in security” (Isaiah 32:9-20).
Many believers hesitate to embrace this because of the cost it may bring — conflict, loss or discomfort. It’s natural to seek peace, but choosing comfort over challenge limits the gospel’s power in our lives. The gospel is meant to shape us deeply, not merely accommodate us.
Jesus never promised comfort — he promised a cross. He said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). This is a call to courageous, intentional living — not a life of ease or convenience.
Too often in today’s culture, people judge success and the measure of discipleship by the standards of the world: wealth, career or popularity. None of these are inherently bad, but we must discern whether those comfortable things actually measure up to how Jesus defines success.
Matthew 5:11 says “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” By Jesus’ definition, his followers are blessed when the world hates them. Success in the Christian life is not measured by how comfortable we are but how faithfully we reflect him.
I can’t help but be reminded of Edward Graham’s Convocation Sept. 29 as I reflect on living in a world that hates us.
“If you’re not hated for your faith, where is your faith?” Graham said. “We’re in a world where you will get hated. Let’s get hated together.”
The gospel tells us to endure rejection while showing love. Persecution is not optional — it’s inevitable. Avoiding it out of fear strips the gospel of its power in our lives. When Christians try too hard to look “normal” and blend into culture, they hide the very light that sets them apart.
The story of the rich young man in Matthew 19 illustrates this truth. When asked to give up everything he had and follow Jesus, he walked away sorrowfully because his possessions were too valuable to him. Similarly, modern Christians often cling to idols of success, comfort or reputation.
Pastor Clay Mackie at Timberlake Baptist Church said, “An idol is anything you’ll sin to get, sin to keep or sin if you lose it.” These idols keep us tied down to a “normal” life instead of a crucified one.
According to the Pew Research Center, a 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study showed that in America, for every person who joins Christianity, six others leave. This loss is especially evident in late teens and young adults.
This isn’t just statistics — it’s souls. Numbers reveal what happens when the church offers comfort instead of calling. They remind us that when faith is reduced to safety, it loses its power to transform.
Complacency weakens faith and drives others away. When believers refuse to live boldly, the gospel looks cheap. People long for meaning, love and justice.
If they do not see Christians embodying these things — even in costly ways — they will seek them elsewhere. Comfortable Christianity is not only spiritually dangerous; it actively pushes people into the arms of other religions.
What if Christians chose a different path? What if rejecting comfort meant serving sacrificially, loving unconditionally and speaking truth courageously?
Jesus himself lived this way. He overturned tables in the temple (Matthew 21), rebuked hypocritical leaders and walked with outcasts and sinners. He did not come to fit in — He came to disrupt.
Paul echoed this when he wrote, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2).
Living like Jesus may be uncomfortable, but it is compelling. It shows the world that our faith is real, and that our hope is not in success or safety, but in Christ alone.
The writer of Hebrews reminds us, “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come” (Hebrews 13:14). An eternal perspective focused on God’s Kingdom gives us the courage to choose obedience over ease and shake off an attitude of complacency.
The temptation of stagnation is real, and it is easy to settle into routine. But the question is not whether we look Christian. It is whether we live like Christ when it costs us.
Do we stand firm in truth when culture disagrees? Do we love radically when it inconveniences us?
Comfort is Satan’s subtle sedative. It lulls Christians into inactivity while the world burns. The enemy is not afraid of a Christian who plays it safe, but he trembles at the believer who walks in bold obedience.
At the end of time, Jesus will say either, “Well done, good and faithful servant” or “Depart from me, I never knew you” (Matthew 25:21, 7:23). Comfort is not worth hearing the latter.
Christianity and complacency cannot coexist. Let us reject the trap of comfort. Let us pick up our crosses, flip tables if necessary and live with the holy fire of a Savior who turned the world upside down. Anything less is not the gospel — it’s Satan’s counterfeit.
Clardy is an intern for the Liberty Champion.