We live in a world carried by currents. There are “societal” currents found in fashion, politics, music, almost anything. People get swept away with the latest fad or trend. Like Pavlov’s dogs, we are too often controlled by the latest commercial jingle. There are “personal” currents – the habitual way we live our lives daily. We call it our daily routine – up at a certain time, out the door at a certain time, off work at a certain time, in the recliner at a certain time. It is amazing how quickly a routine can become a rut. In Hebrews 2:1, we read, “We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away” (NIV). The writer is addressing “spiritual” currents. Not so much “trends” or “fads” – but the believer’s tendency to slip into a lazy, deadly spiritual drift. It is so deadly and yet so difficult to recognize that believers must be reminded over and over to watch out for it, to guard against it, to be aware that any child of God can be affected by it; until, if we are not very careful, we will get tired of hearing about it and stop listening to the warnings. It is hard to see it coming. In fact, most believers don’t see it coming at all. They never recognize it until they wake up one day to find themselves far from the Lord without an explanation for how they got there. The writer asks a very important question, “How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?” Understanding the word “neglect” is the key to getting what the Holy Spirit is preaching here. Neglect is defined as “drifting away” or “drifting by.” Not the picture one has in mind when speaking of the storms of life or spiritual warfare or contending for the faith. Neglect is an almost imperceptible disease of the soul. The greatest enemy of a living, growing, vibrant faith is spiritual complacency. Like a sunbather on an air mattress at the beach who one moment is enjoying a gentle drift in the sunshine which leads to a little snooze and before they know it, they wake up and find that they’ve drifted far from where they started. Neglect also carries with it the idea of “missing the mark.” When shooting at targets, if I miss the mark, it’s because of poor marksmanship. Here it talks of intentional distraction – of allowing ourselves to be carried away by currents or trends simply because it’s the easiest thing to do. The next thing you know, you are readjusting your priorities; you are redefining your faith, you are lowering your bar of expectations to fit what has become a lukewarm lifestyle. Lukewarmness is the number one enemy of one’s spiritual life. It is the opposite of passion and intentionality. All it takes for one to become spiritually lukewarm is to kick back and drift. Don’t let that be you.
