A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope,
encouragement and exhortation.
"Lofty Mountain Grandeur"
Breckenridge,
CO
Photo
by my cousin Georgia McKelvey
"The Peril Of Complaining"
Message
summary: We can
have an attitude of complaining or that of
thankfulness. The choice is ours!
Listen to
our message on your audio player."The whole congregation of the Israelis complained against Moses and Aaron in the desert" (Exodus 16:2).
Although "Thou Shalt Not Whine" is not included in the Ten Commandments it's certainly a good Bible-based rule to live by!
"'There’s
just so much more going wrong now,' said Karen
Maxwell, a college student. 'Things were just much
simpler during the Black Death. All they had to
deal with was squalor, starvation, and the
constant threat of disease. Nowadays we have
microaggressions, student debt, gluten, unequal
pay for women, GMOs. The list just goes on and on.
So it’s no wonder we complain more.'
'It just makes sense,' she added before going back to using her smartphone, a device that would have seemed like dark magic to people living just a hundred years ago."
'It just makes sense,' she added before going back to using her smartphone, a device that would have seemed like dark magic to people living just a hundred years ago."
It does seem complaining has increased in our lifetime and the sources become more and more trivial. Just consider the last time you complained, even in your heart?
Complaining (AKA as grumbling, whining, murmuring) is essentially our reaction to a perceived unfairness. "I don't deserve this" or "It's not fair", we may say or certainly think. But there's a wonderful theological truth expressed early in the Bible by Abraham that we should hide deep within our souls. "Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Genesis 18:25). The answer to that question is always "Yes".
Complaining is not new but it is an ancient affliction. The daily text begins, "The whole congregation of the Israelis complained against Moses and Aaron in the desert". They had just been delivered in a remarkable, miraculous way from Egyptian bondage. They should be immune from complaining, at least for awhile, but it didn't take long.
The source of their complaining in this instance was their hunger. They recalled a very selective and likely embellished memory from Egypt, "There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted." This is quite a contrast to the description of their living conditions when they actually lived there! (see Exodus 2:23)
Today, we ask you, are you living with a healthy, non-complaining outlook, expressing God's love and providential care, even during seasons of "difficulty" that may prompt complaining? Or are you, like the Israelites in our text, focusing on the hardships you face? If so, that focus usually leads to complaining, self-pity, or even embellishing comparisons from the past.
William Law, who lived in the early 1700's observed, "Whenever you find yourself disposed to uneasiness or murmuring at anything that is the effect of God's providence, look upon yourself as denying either the wisdom or goodness of God."
Often our concept of fairness is based on how we perceive others are doing, especially if we think they're doing better or they are not having a trial like we are. If they are doing better or are not undergoing a trial we may think, "That's not fair". But we rarely tend to apply this sense of fairness when we are doing better than others!
The other day we watched a TV program that documented the abject poverty in a third world country focusing on the daily life of a small child who wakes up hungry and goes to bed hungry. It was heart-breaking. Later we enjoyed our evening meal out on our deck under our Gazebo. As we offered thanks to God I paused in my prayer and thought about the TV program we had seen and contrasted that to our prosperous setting. I found myself expressing to God, "It's not fair", realizing we have it so good!
We have
two attitudes we can live with: One is that "We
have so much to complain about", although few
would be this blunt in wording; they just
demonstrate a complaining spirit.The preferred attitude is “We have so much to be thankful for.” Menno, who lived to be 102, often sat near us in church. Long before we met him, in his youth and prime of life, he was a worship leader, Sunday School teacher and very active in the kingdom of God. During his later years he used a walker and was nearly deaf but he still attended every Sunday and often greeted us by saying, "We have so much to be thankful for".
Do you have a healthy non-complaining outlook? Do you speak often of God's love and providential care, even in seasons of "difficulty"?
What's your choice?
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father, it is impossible for me to give
sincere thanks to You unless I have a grateful
heart. Open my eyes to see and verbalize the
little blessings that come even when I'm walking
through dark clouds of difficulty. My daily
blessings, by far, outnumber my troubles. Good
health, comfortable shelter, abundant food, a
loving family, steady work, caring friendships and
many other blessings seem all too common so I
often take them for granted. At times I even feel
entitled to these blessings. Help me not to wait
until trouble erupts before I look to You. Instead
I want to be thankful for Your goodness toward me
for past blessings and to remain confident that
You will be just as faithful in providing for my
future needs. And remind me to never take personal
credit but realize that all good things are from
You. In Your name, Jesus, I thank You today!
Amen.
We
have some interesting experiences on our commute
to serve companies as chaplains throughout our
rural area. Very early yesterday driving along
Echo Valley Road north of Mount Joy we saw an
Amish (or Mennonite) mother and daughter moving
their cows across the road from the milking barn
to pasture. However several cows were stubborn,
such as this one, who must have reasoned the
grass along the road must be better, so Stephen
got out to assist. The sun was brilliant making
it hard to photograph.
We
enjoy how the sunshine brightens this farm in
Lebanon County. Not visible in the photo but
part of the beauty when we first passed the
place was an older couple sitting out on the
porch with the farmer in his straw hat.
Today's
Suggested
Music and Supplemental Resources
"That’s Just What
Grace Does" Video Brian Free &
Assurance
* Study: Average American Now Complains More In A Week Than People Living Through The Black Plague Did Their Entire Lives Babylon Bee article (satire) mentioned in our first paragraph.
* Study: Average American Now Complains More In A Week Than People Living Through The Black Plague Did Their Entire Lives Babylon Bee article (satire) mentioned in our first paragraph.
Finally
today:
Last
night, right in our own back yard, we
enjoyed the country sounds of the horse clip
clopping along as it pulled the buggy past our
house.
Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne
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Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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