Dangerous comfort: is your safe faith slowly killing your soul?
- Arnie Cole
- Feb 16
- 3 min read
Picture yourself at the end of your journey, looking back on your life as a follower of Christ. What story will your choices tell? Will it be a tale of careful preservation, of spiritual bubble wrap and calculated steps that led to a most comfortable blessed life? Or will it be an adventure of a life lived with faith-filled risks and divine possibilities?
Let me ask you something personal: When was the last time your faith made you uncomfortable? When did you last feel the exhilarating uncertainty of stepping out in obedience, not knowing the outcome but trusting the One who called you?
Our research has uncovered a startling truth: spiritual boredom has become the silent epidemic among mature Christians. It's not just about feeling unstimulated—it's about becoming spiritually anesthetized. Many of us have mastered the art of accumulating biblical knowledge while skillfully avoiding its most challenging implications.
James 1:22 confronts us with an uncomfortable truth: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” Think about it—have we become expert listeners but amateur doers? Have we built such comfortable theological fortresses that we’ve locked out the very Holy Spirit prompted adventures that God intends for us?
The tragedy of it all isn’t just personal. When we choose comfort over calling, we don’t just dim our own spiritual vitality—we become spiritual sedatives to those around us. Non-believers observe our risk-free faith and see no compelling reason to investigate further. Fellow believers catch our contagious complacency, and slowly, the vibrant community Jesus envisioned transforms into a spiritual retirement home.
Think about it: Jesus never promised comfort—He promised presence. He didn’t call us to safety—He called us to significance. Yet somehow, we’ve rewritten the Gospel narrative into a spiritual self-preservation, risk-free comfortable lifestyle guide.
Could it be that many of us have unknowingly deceived ourselves—not by rejecting God’s Word, but by selectively filtering out the parts that require bold action? We’re excellent at accumulating knowledge about Jesus, yet far less eager to step into the risk of truly living out what He asks of us.
It’s even possible to become so spiritually oversaturated with learning that we lose interest in what actually matters to Jesus—actively walking in obedience, living faith outwardly so others can witness it and doing the uncomfortable He puts in our path.
Yes, we have the peace that passes all understanding, but that peace was never meant to be an excuse for passivity. Jesus didn’t call us to a life of comfort—He called us to a life of faith, which by definition, involves stepping into uncertainty and risk for His sake.
So What’s Wrong with Playing It Safe? What is a Dangerous Comfort?
Two things:
You become bored with your own spiritual life. A risk-free faith is a stagnant faith—predictable, lifeless, uninspiring dangerous comfort.
Even worse, you become boring to others. Non-believers find nothing compelling about a safe, tamed version of Christianity, and fellow believers see no example worth following. You become an inspiration killer rather than a light in the darkness.
The reality? Research confirms that spiritual boredom is the number one affliction among mature Christ-followers.
So, are you stuck in spiritual boredom? Or are you willing to embrace the risk of following Jesus fully, no matter what it costs?
Are you ready to break free from the comfort trap? To rediscover the pulse-quickening adventure of authentic faith? To live a story worth telling?
Because here's the truth: The world doesn't need more comfortable Christians. It needs Christ Followers who remember that every great movement of God in history began with someone who stepped out in faith beautifully, boldly and uncomfortably vulnerable.
Your spiritual comfort zone might be the very thing standing between you and the life God imagined for you.
Stay tuned, more to come on this great adventure we are headed on together. Please take some time to let me know what you think. I look forward to hearing from you. Send your comments to me here.
-Arnie
