Proverbs 14:15-16

A naive person believes everything,
but the shrewd person discerns his steps.
A wise person is cautious and turns from evil,
but a fool throws off restraint and is overconfident.

My wife has watched every season of Survivor. So, when we started dating and then got married, it was pretty much a prerequisite that I start watching the show with her. After having watched the show for several years now, there is one truth that seems to have been tested and true. As soon as you get comfortable in the game, you’re going to go home. This has happened on several occasions. As soon as someone starts relaxing on the beach, slacking off in their duty around camp and assuming that they’ve got everything under control, they start seeing their name on slips of paper at tribal counsel.

In fact, it’s often the one who’s been controlling the game. They’re the one calling all the shots. Over time, they’ve grown comfortable in their role. And, over time, the’ve become a little less thoughtful about how they play their game and a little more naive about how things really are. So, they grow confident – overconfident. They go from being the one thinking through everything, calling all the shots – to being the one who throws off restraint, not watching where they walk.

And they go home.

The question for us is, should we ever get comfortable in life? Have you ever thought about that? Is it ever appropriate to get comfortable in our skin? The older I get, the more I think we aren’t supposed to. We aren’t supposed to just slack off and take the easy route. Even if we get a lot of life figured out, there’s so much more to learn.

And a wise person doesn’t stop thinking about where they should go, how they should act, what step they should take next. They never grow confident in themselves and their own ability because they know how far they really have to go. They know that the more they learn – the more there is to learn. They know that the farther ahead they get, the farther away the finish line gets. Not in the sense that they live longer and longer, but in the sense that there is so much more ground to cover before they arrive.

So, don’t get too comfortable around camp. You’ve got a lot of work to do before you leave the island.