Philippians 2:14 says simply, “Do everything without complaining.” Is that possible? Well, the Bible thinks it’s possible, so put the muttering and grumbling behind you. When you do that, you’re not abandoning God’s ways.
SHAUNA: Hi this is Shauna on Joni Eareckson Tada Sharing Hope. And Joni, now for most people complaining just comes naturally, doesn’t it?
JONI: Right you are, Shauna! For most people, complaining is just [like you said] it’s a natural thing. We don’t have to think about it. It’s so easy, you never have to reach for words. You know, if someone steps on our toes, says the wrong thing, or does the wrong thing; maybe the guy driving the Amazon truck or when we order online, and it loses all our info? Or a person at church who offends us? Or we are overcharged when we should have gotten a discount? We complain, we grumble, we growl. And people have been doing it since the beginning of time. Like the story of the parting of the Red Sea when God brought his people out of Egypt. Right after that amazing rescue from slavery, the Israelites grumbled that God had led them into the desert where there was no water. But, didn’t they remember that God had just parted a whole ocean of it? Wasn’t the miracle at the Red Sea proof enough that the Lord would provide for them? Even in a desert?
Moses really drilled down on them because [as he puts it] they tested God, saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’ Nowadays, what Christian would dare quarrel with God like that? Yet every time we bellyache, or quibble over some injustice committed, or we whine about God’s timing or lack of provision; even when we mutter under our breath [thinking it’s okay because it’s barely audible], all of our bemoaning is an assault against one person – Jesus [get this], the great I Am, who spilled a whole red sea of blood to miraculously rescue us out of the slavery of sin. When things don’t go our way and we mutter about it, we are inasmuch stamping our foot, crossing our arms, and saying exactly what the Israelites said, “Lord, are you among us or not?” Christians should have no doubt that the Lord Jesus is with us. He is for us. He is among us, having given his life to provide for every one of our needs.
So, that said, we have no reason to complain. God himself says in Psalm 95, “Do not harden your hearts, as…when your fathers put me to the test [in the desert] … though they had seen my work…[they are] a people who go astray in their heart, and have abandoned my ways.” Wow! When Christians make a habit of complaining, they’ve abandoned God’s ways. Now some of you listening might think, “Cut us some slack, we’re just letting off a little steam.” Well if complaining were only now and then, okay, I understand – especially if that person were an immature believer who doesn’t know better. But we should know better. When nitpicking is a believer’s default setting, the result is an awful character trait: a complaining spirit. A rebellious spirit. Some Christians may not see themselves as stiff-necked rebels when they squawk if it rains on their picnic, but Scripture speaks of a complaining spirit far differently.
For instance, Philippians 2:14 [one of my favorites] says simply, “Do everything without complaining.” Is it possible? Is the Bible actually saying we should do everything without complaining? Well, God’s Word thinks it is so let’s put the muttering and grumbling behind us. Join me next time as I share how we can move forward on the road of life without complaining about the potholes. It’s what we’ll be talking about next time right here, because I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and I sure do love sharing hope.
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