Taking God for granted is a gradual, complacent neglect of the relationship, like the familiarity that led a cobra handler, a hunter, a crane operator, and a pressman to shortcuts and sudden disaster. Scripture shows God refusing to tolerate it: Nadab and Abihu offered profane fire and were consumed, and Uzzah died touching the ark that was carried contrary to instructions. Because David worked through that problem, God treats His people the same way, increasing the pressure in escalating steps, as Leviticus 26 shows, until He gains their attention. Three causes of complacency are named: neglecting prayer and Bible study, which should sharpen the image of God so that He is seen and imitated (Hebrews 2:1-3 warns against drifting away like an untied boat); becoming entangled with the cares of the world, which smother the Word (Matthew 13:22); and unwillingness to change when God is seen clearly, as with the Pharisees who searched Scripture yet would not come to Christ, and Judas, who never applied what he heard. The fruit in a person's life reveals how close he is to God. The remedy is to keep God's purpose in calling us at the forefront of the mind: to love God with all heart, soul, strength, and mind, to love neighbor, to build godly character by choice, and to imitate God out of gratitude for what He has done, never letting down or carelessly taking Him for granted.

People limit God by characterizing Him too simplistically and confining Him to what they can comprehend. They make Him into a somewhat greater human who is limited, contained, and tamable. Since they think God is a lot like themselves, they believe that He acts and reacts like them. They soon suppose that He did not really mean it when He told them not to do certain things. They further suppose that even if He did mean it, He would not mind if they do it once or twice as long as they do not make it a habit. It is not long before they convince themselves that the forbidden behavior can be done as long as they ask God to forgive them of it later. They reason that He will always forgive because that is what a loving Father does. In time they reach full rebellion against God and His way of life. This process begins with thinking too little of the Almighty Lord of all things. The Bible draws a straight line between limiting God and death.

People take God for granted when they soften the full meaning of the fear of the Lord into mere respect, reverence, or awe, thereby fashioning Him into a comfortable figure whose presence can be casually enjoyed in times of need. This narrowed view conceals the fright, dread, and terror that rightly belong to any encounter with the living God, whose holiness and power remain undiminished. Such an attitude reveals itself not in words but in conduct that treats the blood of the covenant as ordinary, the Spirit of grace as negligible, and the judgment of God as something that can be safely ignored. Scripture shows that God examines the heart and sees through every pretense. When His people willfully persist in sin, they demonstrate contempt by their actions, and the righteous Judge will not overlook the insult. The same God who shakes the earth and consumes with fire will repay those who disdain Him, making it a fearful thing to fall into His hands. True fear of God therefore functions as a deliberate choice that compels departure from evil, submission to His way, and constant awareness that life and death rest solely in His hands. Without this fear, knowledge of God remains incomplete, wisdom is unattainable, and the relationship with Him becomes a matter of convenience rather than reverence mixed with dread.