I've been thinking about comfort lately.
And if I'm being fair, I like it.
I'm 52 years old. I've raised kids, built a business, dealt with bills, responsibilities, problems, setbacks, unexpected phone calls, things breaking, people needing something, and plenty of days that didn't go according to plan.
So yes.
I like a comfortable chair.
I like having some money in the bank.
I like knowing the bills are paid.
I like vacations.
I like my home.
I like when my family is doing well.
I like when business is going smoothly.
I like when life feels peaceful.
And I don't think there's anything wrong with any of that.
But I've started wondering if somewhere along the way, without ever really deciding to, I started using comfort as one of the ways I decide whether life is going well.
If things are easy, God must be blessing me.
If things get difficult, something must be wrong.
If a door opens easily, maybe it's God's will.
If following God gets complicated, maybe I've missed something.
Then I read the New Testament.
And that doesn't always fit.
I Don't Remember Choosing Comfort
I don't think most Christians wake up one morning and say:
"I'm going to choose comfort over following Jesus."
It happens a lot more quietly than that.
We just start arranging life so things are easier.
We want enough money that we don't have to worry.
Enough savings that we feel secure.
A schedule we can control.
Relationships that aren't too demanding.
A church that fits what we like.
People around us who mostly agree with us.
A comfortable home.
A predictable future.
None of those things sound wrong.
And by themselves, they're not.
The problem is when protecting those things starts deciding what we're willing to do for Jesus.
Comfort usually doesn't ask us to reject Jesus.
It just makes us less willing to let Him interrupt our plans.
That one gets me.
Because when I look at Jesus, I don't see someone building His life around avoiding inconvenience.
I see pretty much the opposite.
Jesus Wasn't Building a Comfortable Life
Jesus said something in Luke chapter 9 that doesn't sound much like the way we usually talk about a successful life.
He said:
"If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me."
Then He continued:
"If you try to hang on to your life, it will slip away from you. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it."
That's Luke 9:23–24.
Take up your cross.
Daily.
That's pretty different from:
Build the easiest life you can and ask Me to keep anything from messing it up.
I want to be careful here.
I don't think Jesus is telling us to intentionally make our lives miserable.
I don't think suffering makes somebody more spiritual.
I don't think having money is wrong.
I don't think having a nice house is wrong.
I don't think vacations are wrong.
And I don't think we should make foolish decisions just because they're difficult.
But I do think there's a big difference between enjoying comfort when God gives it to us and making comfort what we're living for.
One says:
"Thank You, God, for this."
The other says:
"God, please don't ask me to give this up."
That's a pretty big difference.
I Think I've Sometimes Confused Easy With Blessed
This is something I'm having to rethink.
Somewhere along the way, I picked up the idea that if I'm following God, things should generally work out.
The doors should open.
The money should come.
The problem should get fixed.
The path should become clear.
I should have peace about it.
And sometimes that absolutely happens.
But sometimes following God actually makes life harder.
Ask Abraham.
Ask Moses.
Ask Peter.
Ask Paul.
Actually, ask Jesus.
The cross wasn't proof that Jesus had somehow missed the Father's will.
It was obedience.
That makes me wonder how many times I've run into difficulty and thought:
Maybe I'm going the wrong way.
When maybe the better question was:
Am I doing what God asked me to do?
Because something being easy doesn't necessarily mean it's right.
And something being hard doesn't necessarily mean it's wrong.
Jesus Keeps Pointing Us Toward Other People
Paul talks about Jesus in Philippians chapter 2:
"Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves."
Then Paul points directly to Jesus.
Jesus didn't use His position for Himself.
He served.
He humbled Himself.
He gave Himself for others.
And when I look at myself, my natural tendency can be pretty different.
Protect my time.
Protect my money.
Protect my energy.
Protect my plans.
Protect my comfort.
Protect my future.
Now, some boundaries are healthy.
Rest matters.
Planning matters.
Providing for your family matters.
But I think there's still a question worth asking:
What am I protecting all of this for?
If I protect my time so carefully that nobody can ever interrupt me, what's my time for?
If I save and accumulate resources but never become more generous, what's the money for?
If I have a comfortable home but nobody ever feels welcomed into it, what's the home for?
If I stay away from difficult people so successfully that I rarely have to love anybody difficult, what exactly have I accomplished?
That one gets a little personal.
Comfort Is Fine Until It Starts Making My Decisions
I think that's the distinction for me.
Comfort can be a gift from God.
Enjoy it.
Be thankful.
Rest.
Sit on the porch.
Take the trip.
Have dinner with your family.
Sleep in every once in a while.
Laugh.
Enjoy your house.
Enjoy the season when everything isn't falling apart.
There's nothing wrong with enjoying something good.
But I don't want comfort deciding where I'm willing to follow Jesus.
Because eventually following Him may be inconvenient.
It might cost money.
It might take time.
It might involve somebody I'd rather avoid.
It might interrupt my Saturday.
It might mean forgiving somebody who doesn't deserve it.
It might mean giving when I'd rather save.
It might mean speaking up when I'd rather stay quiet.
It might mean going somewhere unfamiliar.
It might mean staying somewhere I'd rather leave.
It might mean doing something nobody notices.
And sometimes it may simply mean being inconvenienced.
That's not persecution.
Sometimes it's just Tuesday.
Maybe This Is Why Jesus Said Daily
I've always noticed that Jesus said to take up our cross daily.
I'm starting to understand why.
Because I can give everything to God on Sunday...
and somehow have taken all of it back by Tuesday afternoon.
My schedule.
My plans.
My money.
My expectations.
My comfort.
My life.
Mine again.
Maybe taking up our cross daily isn't mostly about some huge sacrifice we'll make someday.
Maybe a lot of the time it's simply waking up and saying:
"Jesus, my life belongs to You today."
My schedule belongs to You.
My business belongs to You.
My money belongs to You.
My house belongs to You.
What I'm good at belongs to You.
My plans belong to You.
And if You put somebody in front of me today who needs something I can give, help me not be so focused on what I had planned that I walk right past them.
I'm Not Trying to Make My Life Harder
That's important.
My goal isn't to become uncomfortable.
That could turn into its own strange kind of religion.
I'm not looking for suffering.
I'm not trying to prove something.
I'm trying to become more available.
Available to God.
Available to people.
Available when something interrupts my plans.
Available to give.
Available to change direction.
Available to go.
Available to stay.
Available to listen.
Available to notice somebody.
Maybe the opposite of living for comfort isn't living an uncomfortable life.
Maybe it's simply being available.
That makes a lot more sense to me.
Paul Looked at Life Differently
Paul wrote something in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 that can sound pretty foreign to us today:
"That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day."
Then he says:
"For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!"
Paul wasn't pretending suffering didn't hurt.
He knew suffering better than most of us ever will.
He just knew this life wasn't all there was.
That changed the way he looked at what he was going through.
And maybe that's something I need to remember too.
If this life is everything, then making it as comfortable as possible makes a lot of sense.
But if Jesus is right...
if this life matters tremendously but it doesn't last very long...
if eternity is real...
if God's Kingdom is real...
then maybe the question isn't:
"How comfortable can I make the rest of my life?"
Maybe it's:
"How can God use the rest of my life?"
At 52, that question means something to me.
I don't want to spend the second half of my life just making myself more comfortable.
I want to enjoy God's gifts.
I want to enjoy my family.
I want to travel.
I want to laugh.
I want to sit somewhere beautiful with a cup of coffee and enjoy every minute of it.
But I don't want comfort deciding whether I say yes to God.
Because most of us aren't going to openly choose comfort over Jesus.
We just have to be careful we don't build a life where comfort always wins.
And maybe following Jesus means leaving enough room in our lives for Him to change our plans.
LOOK INWARD
Ask yourself:
Have I started assuming that if life is comfortable, God is blessing me, and if life gets difficult, something must be wrong?
And maybe the harder question:
Is there something I already know I should do, but I've been putting it off mostly because it would be inconvenient?
Don't force an answer.
Just be honest about it.
LOOK TO SCRIPTURE
Read these three passages slowly this week:
Luke 9:23–25
Philippians 2:3–8
2 Corinthians 4:16–18
And instead of asking:
"What are Christians supposed to do with this?"
Make it personal.
Ask:
"Jesus, what are You showing me about how I'm living?"
CARRY WATER
This week, be willing to be inconvenienced once.
Not recklessly.
Not because inconvenience somehow makes you holy.
Just be available.
Give somebody an hour you hadn't planned to give.
Help somebody when it would be easier to keep going.
Invite somebody in.
Make the phone call.
Give something away.
Listen a little longer than you planned.
Change your schedule for somebody who really needs you.
One person.
One interruption.
One small moment where comfort doesn't get the final say.
And when it happens, instead of thinking:
"This is messing up my day."
Maybe think:
"Maybe this is part of what God had for my day."
Sometimes taking up our cross daily may be a lot less dramatic than we imagine.
It may simply mean leaving enough room in our lives to love the person God puts in front of us.