Inertia. We

all learned in school that inertia is the tendency of

matter to remain at rest or if moving, to keep moving in

the same direction, unless affected by some outside

force. Spiritual inertia has a hold on many of our lives

and on many of our churches.

We are very

familiar with physical inertia. It is the force that will

not let you get up out of the comfortable chair, which

begs for someone else to fill your iced tea glass, for

someone else to pitch you the remote control. Gravity

joined inertia as an ally long ago.

We are

familiar with emotional inertia. It is the dullness and

boredom in your life that makes you seek out a thrilling

video filled with violence and sex to stimulate your lazy

emotions. Emotional inertia wants to read a book that

will "make" you cry. Truth is we all walk

around like emotional zombies needful of something to

make us laugh or cry.

We are

familiar with financial inertia. It is the force that

says if you do not try, you will not make any money. The

Italian ditch digger knows this law because he says,

"I diga' the ditch to maka' the money to buya' the

bread to geta' the strength to diga' the ditch."

You have to

take a risk to reap some rewards. Money does not grow on

trees contrary to what we learned as children.

We are also

familiar with romantic inertia. Particularly for married

folks whose glands have calmed down since puberty, it

takes some effort to stoke the fire of romance: dinner

out, a dozen roses, and chocolates.

You see the

tendency is to stay put. That is our tendency in our

spiritual walk. To stay put. We've learned enough, we

have grown enough, we've developed enough. Comfortable

enough, we say it will take too much effort to get the

ball rolling out of our comfort zone - out of our

lazy-boy lives.

That is the

tendency that rules many congregations: stay put in your

little circle of friends; stay put where you sit every

Sunday; come in and exit the same doors as you always do.

The church sign read something like this: "If you

always do the same thing that you always do, you are

going to get the same results." That is inertia.

Jesus said,

"If I am lifted up, I will draw all men unto

myself." We must just break out of our comfortable

patterns -controlled by inertia -and lift Jesus

up. We must lift him up at church, at school, at work, at

home. That will get the ball rolling and rolling in God's

direction. So, get up and get going! Besides you need to

lose some weight.

The Rev. Dr. John

Hatcher is pastor of River's Edge Community Church in

Fayetteville.

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