Comfortable, or Lukewarm?

For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

Revelation 3:17

The city of Laodicea, located in the Lycus River Valley in the Roman province of Asia, had a water problem. The city’s water was piped in from several miles away, and it was so tepid by the time that it arrived that the natural reaction of most people was to spit it out of their mouths. After all, who wants to drink water that is not either hot or cold?

Jesus used Laodicea’s well-known water problem to describe the spiritual quality of the church in that ancient city. Those Christians were neither hot nor cold, and the tepidness of their faith led Jesus to threaten to “spit” them out of his mouth (Revelation 3:16). That’s probably one of the more graphic images used by our Lord in all of scripture to speak of his reaction to the lifestyle of those who claim to wear his name. What caused the Christians of Laodicea to arrive at this point of dubious distinction?

In his letter to this lukewarm church, Jesus pointed out that its members did not even realize the depth of their spiritual trouble. They were “wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked,” (Revelation 3:17) but they thought themselves to be rich and not in need of anything or anyone. They thought themselves to be self-sufficient because of their wealth when, in fact, they were worse off than homeless beggars who could not even adequately cloth themselves. Why were such physically successful people seen by Jesus to be so lowly and helpless?

One answer to the questions about the Laodiceans may lie in the fact that their riches had led them to become comfortable with themselves. Once a person achieves a certain level of comfort, it seems that he or she is unwilling to do or say anything that will threaten to remove or destroy that comfortable situation. It’s not unusual for a person to be willing to compromise an entire belief system in order to achieve or maintain physical comfort. Perhaps the Laodiceans, faced with the loss of their riches and comforts if they spoke too loudly about their faith in Jesus Christ, chose to remain quiet about their faith in order to maintain their precious status quo.

I want to suggest that it is very possible for us to be exactly like the Laodicean church. In fact, we live in a society today that effectively rewards “lukewarmness” on the part of its members. This is true because, as soon as a person begins to speak out and suggest that any behavior of any other person is aberrant or sinful, the person who speaks is barraged with charges of slander and intolerance. Those who try to stand up for truth are often marginalized by those who have convinced themselves that there is no such thing as “truth,” and who have decided that “absolute” is, in fact, a dirty word. Therefore, if a Christian wants to be accepted by his or her peers in society, it is necessary to “tone down” any talk of moral correctness, to take a “middle position” on controversial issues. If you want to be comfortable, you simply can’t afford to be “hot” or “cold” about much of anything.

To those who allow their desire for “comfort” to cause them to draw back from declaring and standing for truth and morality, Jesus says two things. First, “I will spit you out of my mouth,” and second, “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.”

We can’t afford to be lukewarm and comfortable.

Bobby Wheat