Complaining Does No Good

 

One morning a man woke up at five o’clock to a noise that sounded like someone repairing a ship’s boiler on his roof. Still in his pajamas and bare footed, he stormed out the door into the backyard to investigate. He witnessed a woodpecker on his TV antenna “pounding his little brains out on the metal pole.” Angry at the little creature who ruined his sleep, the man picked up a rock and threw it towards the bird. The rock sailed over the rooftop and in the distance, he heard a crashing sound as it hit his car. In utter disgust, he took a vicious kick at a dirt clod, only to remember, too late, he was still in his bare feet. Uncontrolled anger, as the man soon discovered, can sometimes be its own reward. “An angry man stirs up strife, And a furious man abounds in transgression” (Proverbs 29:22).

There is a tendency among most of us to complain. We complain about almost anything, almost all the time. The coffee is not hot enough, or it’s too hot. He weather is always too wet, (well not in South Texas), too cold, windy, or hot. Our spouse doesn’t cook the meals we want. Our team missed the playoffs, again! Taxes are too high and government services are too little. The preacher is boring and talks too long. Overhearing some of our conversations, many could conclude that we must be extremely depressed.

After freeing Israel from their slavery in Egypt, God cared for them in the wilderness. Throughout their journeys God provided food and protection. But, during that time of extra-ordinary care, they complained about the food, the water, their leaders, and just about everything else. Their complaining was so intense that God was wanting to destroy them all and start over with Moses’ family (Numbers 14:11-12). We must learn from the mistakes of the past. Paul wanted the Corinthians to learn from the mistakes of Israel during their wilderness wanderings (1 Corinthians 10:1-13).

Both happiness and sadness are choices. We decide to be happy or sad. For many of us it is not a conscious choice, but it is still a choice. If we make the wrong choice, we can always change our decision. We can choose to be positive. We can choose to enjoy life. We can choose to give thanks for the coffee in our cup rather than complain about its temperature. We can choose to give thanks for the food we have rather than complaining about the recipe used to prepare it. As children of God in fellowship with one another, we can choose to appreciate one another’s strengths instead of complaining about each other’s failures. Each and every one of us will have personal problems. Each one of us also has talents and strengths. Each one of us is loved by the Lord. James wrote that we should not whine about each other, bringing judgment against ourselves (James 5:8-9). Choose to be positive and be happy in the joy of the Lord.

[Philippians 2:14-16] Never once did our Lord have a path free from trouble. When He went into the wilderness, He was tempted of the devil. When He tried to rest, the multitudes followed Him. When He taught in the synagogue, the hearers became angry and sought to throw Him off the brow of a hill. When He gave others rest for their souls, He had no place to lay His head. When He sought peace in the garden, they came with swords and staves, and led Him away to the halls of judgment. When He did His best to be kind and loving in the face of mockery, they took Him as a sheep to slaughter and drenched Calvary with His precious blood. And yet, in spite of it all, He never grumbled about His burden. Jesus did not complain at all! He just went about doing good. Let us be like Him! The busiest are the happiest. Cheerful, active labor is a blessing. The busy, the active, the happy, the cheerful, don’t have time to complain. “…Why should a living man complain, A man for the punishment of his sins?” (Lamentations 3:37-39). Lord, forgive.