Neither Cold Nor Hot
A stagnant life can be described first as a life that is neither cold or hot.
“I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wart cold or hot.”- The Holy Bible
The stagnant life is a lukewarm life. Lukewarm water makes a disgusting and distasteful drink. A lukewarm life is a repugnant life. Such a life is neither cold nor hot, but worse than either; I would thou art either cold or hot. A life that conforms to the Stagnant Equation Life is a life of little or no interest or enthusiasm; it is a half-hearted and torpid life. A stagnant equation life is a neutral life; a life living on the fence; it is neither here nor there. Like a salt which has lost its savor, “It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill, but men cast it out”. Lukewarmness or indifferent in the spiritual matter is the worst temper in the world. If Christ is anything to go by, then He is the most excellent thing, and therefore we should be zealous and passionate about it, and if Christ is not a real thing, then we should opt out of Him with boldness. If serving God is worth anything, then it is worth everything; an indifferent life is a most miserable life. “Why halt you between two opinions? If God is God, follow Him; if Baal (be God), follow him.” There is no reason for neutrality in Christ. You are either for Him or against. An open enemy is better than a secret friend. There is more hope of an than a secret friend. There is more hope of an unbeliever than a lukewarm saint. For such is neither good for the land or the dunghill. Christ expects that men should declare themselves in earnest either for Him or against Him.
A stagnant life is a life without excitement. As lukewarm water turns the stomach and provokes to a vomit, lukewarm profession turn the heart of Christ against them. He is sick of them, and cannot bear long to them. A severe punishment is threatened against the lukewarm people. “I will spit thee out of my mouth”. They shall be rejected, and finally rejected. It is very dangerous to live a stagnant, lukewarm, and indifferent Christian life. There is nothing more disgusting than a half-hearted, in-face-only employee who is self-sufficient. Don’t settle for following God halfway. Let Christ fire up your faith and get you into action.
The Unprofitable Servant
Another description of the stagnant life equation is the life of the unprofitable servant. Remember the unprofitable servant? He received one talent and returned one talent No gain, no loss. He was just stagnant. The unprofitable servant speaks of a Christian’s life that is idle, lazy and inactive in the matter of kingdom business. They are Christians who have been saved to serve but refused to serve anyway. They have talents but rather chose to bury them in oblivion. They have great advantages and great platforms, yet they do no good with it. They are a bunch of irresponsible saints who are good for nothing. But can you be truly saved and be on duty for your Lord? This is where the trouble is! The life that conforms to the stagnant equation raises trouble in the Heavens and confusion among men on earth as their lives neither show signs of being earthly relevant nor heavenly minded.
The unprofitable servant did not misspend or misemploy his talent, he did not embezzle it or squander it away; he only hides it. He hid his Lord’s money; had it been his own, he might have done as he pleased, but he was given talents to trade with just as you are saved to serve your generation according to the measure of grace given to you. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them”. (Eph. 2:10). Whatever dislikes and advantage we have, they are not our own, we are but stewards of them and must give account to our Lord, whose goods they are. Don’t tell me you don’t have any gift or ability, the scripture state it’s very clear, “the manifestation of the spirit is given to every man to profit withal”. You have no excuse whatsoever to be idle and useless in the world and in the body of Christ. The smallness of your gift or talent will not be an excuse for you on the day of reckoning. None shall be called to an account for more than they have received, but for what we have we must all account.
The Lord attributes the stagnant life of the unprofitable servant to slothfulness and wickedness. “Thou wicked and slothful servant”. Slothful, idle and indifferent servants are wicked servants and will be judged as such by their master. Just on the lukewarm person will be spewed out of the mouth of Christ; the unprofitable servant will be cast out into outer darkness. What a grave consequence! “He also that is slothful in his work is a brother to him that is a great waster! Prov. 18:9. To do no good is to incur very serious blame. Slothfulness makes way for wickedness. When the house is empty, the unclean spirit comes around and take possession. Those who are idle and lukewarm in the affairs of their souls are not only idle but something worse. A passive, idle life in the kingdom leaves nothing to be desired.
As I conclude on the stagnant equation of life, you need to check if this defines the state of your life at the moment. Is there any fire in your soul? Are you a committed Christian or a Christian only in name? Are you earnest and crazy about your faith or you are the light put under the bushed? Are you an almost persuaded Christian or an altogether persuaded follower of Christ? How about your usefulness in the kingdom, are you occupied for the master or are you eating the bread of idleness? Are you a church worker or a bench warmer? How will Christ describe you, wicked and slothful servant or good and faithful steward? Are you a seasoning of the earth or a salt that has lost its savor? Christ abhors with passion, the life of stagnancy, idleness, lukewarmness, and indifference. Hence the judgment is severe: ‘’so, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.’’ ‘’And throw the useless servant out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. I pray for somebody reading this, may the Lord ignite you unto fervency and fruitfulness. “Not slothful in business fervent in spirit, serving the lord”. [Rom 12: 11]
The Stagnant Equation Life is a life that is at an ease-the condition of being comfortable with the status quo-not having desire, zeal or passion for growth change. It is that life that says “It is enough.” And if the grave; the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire…saith not, it is enough”, then a Stagnant Equation Life is worse than them and the two daughters of horseleech crying out “more, more!” (Proverbs 30:15). God in the Book of Amos pronounced “Woe to them that are at ease in Zion.” So then, living a life that conforms to the Stagnant Life Equation attracts divine displeasure and judgment! The Lord abhors it.
One major reason people live a plateau life of stagnancy is the self-deluded thought and false hope as seen expressed in the Laodicean Church in Revelation chapter three verse seventeen: “You say, I am rich, with everything I want; I don’t need a thing!” (TLB). This church became complacent and indifferent because they suddenly arrived at a junction in their lives where they felt self-satisfied and secured that they thought they needed nothing anymore. The same thing with the Israelites who were “at ease in Zion.” They trusted in the mountain of Samaria and concluded they needed not be watchful and vigilant anymore. This is the great danger in both material and spiritual prosperity. Great wealth and comfortable lifestyle may make people think they are secure and have need of nothing, thereby relapsing into the unprofitable life of ease, lukewarmness, and idleness.
Some believers falsely assume that lots of material possessions are a sign of God’s spiritual blessing. Laodicea was a wealthy city, and the church in that city also was wealthy. But what the Laodicean church could see and buy had become more valuable to them than what is unseen and eternal. Wealth, luxury, and ease can make people feel confident, satisfied, and complacent. But no matter how much you possess or how much money you make, you have nothing if you don’t have a vital relationship with Christ. How does your current level of wealth affect your spiritual desire? Are you still desiring more of God or you have reached and settled on the self-deluded pinnacle of “I have it all made”?
While that church had the thought they were very well already, having need of nothing; and therefore became indifferent whether they grew better or not; Christ, on the other hand, had a totally different and opposite opinion and evaluation about them. Hear what Jesus said, “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” How we need to be careful in order to avoid the danger of thinking ourselves more than we really are and thereby ensnared by the strangling net of complacency and lukewarmness.
A continued state of stagnancy eventually degenerates into backslidden state-the Backward Life Equation. A perpetual state of backsliding also results in death. Anything that is not alive and active is dead and useless. Therefore, a Stagnant Life is a dead-living life! Just like the bread you leave out too long becomes moldy, we too can become rotten by not moving forward. There is no light at the end of the tunnel of a stagnant life; neither can there be a promise of better things. Stagnancy can only be followed by declination-a backward life. Stagnation is a great enemy of growth and progress. As iron rusts from disuse; and water loses its purity from stagnation; so does a stagnant life. Stagnation adds no value at all. Rather it diminishes. When you stop developing or making progress, you will start depreciating-going from better to worse. Just like stagnant water breeds unpleasant smell and creatures; a stagnant life begins to replace the aroma of Christ with the unpleasant odour of a life that has lost its savor. A stagnant life eventually will die! Remember the young prophet in the Bible? When he stopped moving, death caught up with him.
A stagnant life is a
dangerous life. Therefore, you must vehemently resist stagnation so that you can attain the heights God has ordained for you in life. A man named Robert Heap said, “The glories we have known are as nothing compared to the glories yet to be. The mightiest achievements of the past dwindle into insignificance beside the conquest still possible.” The future still holds better promises than today. So why settle for less? Why do you choose to be your own enemy to greater heights by succumbing to the destructive spirit of stagnation? Why deny yourself of its greater tomorrow? The longer you grow, the brighter God expects your life to shine. Anything short of this is an aberration.
dangerous life. Therefore, you must vehemently resist stagnation so that you can attain the heights God has ordained for you in life. A man named Robert Heap said, “The glories we have known are as nothing compared to the glories yet to be. The mightiest achievements of the past dwindle into insignificance beside the conquest still possible.” The future still holds better promises than today. So why settle for less? Why do you choose to be your own enemy to greater heights by succumbing to the destructive spirit of stagnation? Why deny yourself of its greater tomorrow? The longer you grow, the brighter God expects your life to shine. Anything short of this is an aberration.