The Pitfall of Slackness

"Then Joshua said to the children of Israel: "How long will you neglect to go and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers has given you?"

Joshua 18:3

God had brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, through the wilderness, and into the Land of Promise.  He also provided victory as the people drove out the inhabitants of the land.  The tabernacle had been set up in Shiloh, and the land was subdued before the people.  But a point came when 7 of the 12 tribes had not yet entered the land God intended His people to dwell in as their inheritance.  Joshua rebuked the people for their slackness.  The words of Joshua in verse 3 in the KJV read, "How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the LORD God of your fathers hath given you?"  The word "slack" in the Hebrew means, "abate, cease, fail, wax feeble, forsake, idle, let alone."  Once the people became established in the land, they seemed to lose the motivation to expand the borders God ordained for them and were slack to drive out the enemies which remained.  Free from enemy assault and able to dwell peacefully, they became idle.

Isn't this a potential pitfall which Christians face today?  When we are free from overt resistance or satanic assault, we can fall prey to a more subversive, more sinister attack.  We can be content with our justification by faith but cease to press on in sanctification and growth.  In not labouring to progress we lose ground as the strength of the enemy builds.  We would never be so foolish to suggest "We have arrived!" but are we heading anywhere?  Are we doing anything?  In God we have potential for perpetual growth and fruitfulness, but we can be content with last season's harvest.  The enemies we co-habitate with are not too bad or threatening at the moment, meaning they do not make our lives too inconvenient or uncomfortable.  We can lose sight of the fact that those enemies, those hindrances to our spiritual growth and fruitfulness, are occupying the very ground God intendeds us to take, having claimed it as our inheritance.

When a threat of certain attacked is understood, the men within the city would feverishly prepare.  Weapons would be sharpened and protective armour prepared.  The fortifications of the city would be strengthened, and watchmen would remain vigilant in their duties.  But when the people of the land are established and enjoy a season of rest and peace, slackness creeps in.  The same can be true in our lives as Christians.  Godliness with contentment is great gain, but contentment without godliness is a sin which the flesh prefers.  May we not be slack to enter into all that God has ordained for us.  He is our Inheritance, and there is much land yet to possess!