The Danger Of Complaining

By John Stallings


A construction worker sat down to eat his lunch and when he saw the sandwich in his lunch-box he growled “Oh no, another meatloaf sandwich.”

The men who worked with him kept silent and soon they all went back to work. The next day the man did the same thing; he opened his lunch-box, looked at his sandwich and exclaimed, “Not again! Not another meatloaf sandwich!”

After a week of the man complaining about his meatloaf sandwiches, one of the men asked, “Why don’t you ask your wife to fix you something else if you don’t like meatloaf? The man replied, “What are you talking about, I make my own lunch.”

In a real sense you and I are “making our own lunch” each and every day by our thoughts, words and attitudes. When you complain you use the incredible power of your mind to cause things to be drawn to you. You get caught in the “complaint loop” and your words become a self-fulfilling prophecy of –complaint, manifestation—complaint, manifestation—complaint manifestation, and you began attracting the very things you don’t want to you.

There’s a long list of disastrous behaviors that can be fed through complaining and grumbling-all leading to sin. There’s slander, pride, anger, resentment, bitterness, guilt, unforgiveness, a lying heart, a hard heart, jealousy, complacency, excuses, laziness, insensitivity, a seared conscience, malice, hypocrisy, envy, rage, quarreling, greed, lewdness, arrogance, folly, theft, false testimony, and lust.

A NATION OF WHINERS

The reality is that you and I are blessed with more freedom, more choices, more prosperity, more health, more opportunity, more comforts, more conveniences and more prerogatives than any other people on the face of the earth, and yet this somehow doesn’t stop us from griping our way through life. A recent global survey revealed that only the Germans complain more than Americans do.

I understand that we have our problems in this great country but could it be we’ve had it so good for so long that we’ve become more and more unrealistic in demanding that everything be perfectly to our liking? Have we become spoiled brats as a nation?

PRESIDENT OBAMA

If a CEO of a large American company were to conduct himself like President Obama has; constantly blaming his predecessor for all his problems, even if much of it were true, he’d lose his job and quickly be replaced in much less than two years.

I’m pragmatic enough to say if something works it works but it hasn’t helped the president when he kept on asserting that he had inherited a terrible situation from the Bush administration. Everyone knows he stepped into a rough situation but enough already Mr. Obama, we elected you to solve problems, not to complain about them.

A man known for his constant complaining inherited a large sum of money. However it wasn’t as much as he thought it would be. He complained for weeks about the amount he actually got. Finally one day he decided to buy a farm for him and his wife to enjoy in retirement. He asked his wife, “What do you think I should name it?” His wife replied, “Why don’t you call it “Belly-Acres?”

Someone might say, “Come on John, isn’t it unrealistic to expect folk not to complain at least a little? There may be a lot right with our situation but there is so much wrong about our world, our nation, our workplace, our neighborhoods, our homes, our aging bodies, our families and our marriages. How can folk be expected not to have some kind of negative feelings and comments when there are so many things we shouldn’t tolerate and so many things to legitimately complain about? Wouldn’t we be lowering our standards if we suddenly stopped demanding that the world and the people around us be the best they can be and at least strive for some sort of excellence?”- The answer lies in;

SHIFTING OUR TONE, STYLE, EMPHASIS AND METHODS
Listen to what Paul told the Philippians;

Do all things without grumbling and faultfinding and complaining [[against God] and [questioning and doubting …. Philippians 2:14 (Amplified Bible)

Paul is saying in essence here, Zip-It! Don’t complain because Chronic Complaining has some Catastrophic Consequences. Our lives could be much sweeter and we’d be more successful in our relationships if we’d begin to practice a change of tone in the way we do and say things.

LEARNING TO LOVE THE JOURNEY

So much of my life was spent on the road I sometimes feel as if I should have written Willy Nelson’s song, “On the road again.” My father was a traveling preacher a good portion of his life and often took his family with him. I started on the road early in life and much of my grade- schooling came through correspondence courses.

When I went to Bible College in the fall of 1957 I joined the College Choir, the Men’s Chorus, A Men’s Quartet, as well as one or two other groups whose names escape me now.

We toured for two weeks each year with the choir from Lakeland Florida to New York City. We’re talking about 35 or 40 teenage boys and girls, with several chaperons traveling together in a leased Greyhound bus all day, then singing at a church at night, and staying overnight with members of the local church.

The Men’s Chorus toured a couple of weeks a year throughout the Southern states. The Men’s Quartet I was in singing second tenor and playing guitar for accompaniment traveled often throughout the year mostly in Florida and a few southern states.

Then came the many years of travel in Evangelism after I got out of school and was married.

LIFE IS LIKE A “ROAD TRIP”

In many ways a road trip can be an apt metaphor for life. The road can bring out the absolute worst in people. Travel can turn an otherwise sane and reasonable individual into a chronic complainer so tensed up their shoulders are up around their ears ready to put the kibosh on the first person who looks at them funny.

If it’s men only, traveling by car, you have the problem of…well… body odor. Not being raised with brothers, I soon learned that some guys will only shower every other day. Needless to say that presents a problem with shall I say… B.O? A road trip can leave you seeking relief from “air pollution.” Once in a while you need to roll down the car windows to get some fresh-air. I’ve always had low tolerance to bad odors.

No matter how good or not so good the travel conditions are, after a while the road especially traveling with a group will hammer you into submission and ultimately wear you out, if not spit you out. But I find it interesting that we human beings can bond around our complaints. For this reason it’s not unusual for lifetime friendships to start on a trip with only the common thread of some hardship or a test of our patience that we experienced with another individual.

A common thread for grumbling, faultfinding, complaining, murmuring etc. begins and grows in our thoughts, a selfish ungratefulness for not having things go the way we’d like them to. Either things are too slow or too fast, too big or too small, don’t taste, smell or feel right, too hot, too cold, to wet or too dry, too expensive, planes and trains are running late, restaurants serving inedible food, beds with rock gardens in them and grumpy fellow travelers to contend with, and this is only a short list of “road hazards.”

So what’s wrong with a little grumbling and complaining?
The bible is full of people who complained to God, not the least of which are Moses, Job, Elijah, Paul, Jonah and of course maybe the champion, The Psalmist David.

From God’s perspective, when His people grumble about their circumstances, they are grumbling against the Lord’s provision – and thus treating the Sovereign Lord Himself with contempt. The “worst case scenario” of grumbling in Scripture and the trouble it led to has to be the Israelites as they left Egypt for the Promised Land. When God’s people murmured against His appointed leaders – whether Moses or Aaron – God took it personally as grumbling against Himself. He still takes it personally.

To grumble against God’s provisions or God’s leaders is to dishonor God and to treat Him with contempt, and that is as serious an offense in God’s sight as idolatry or sexual immorality. We know how offensive it is to our ears to hear people taking the Lord’s name in vain. That’s how our grumbling and complaining sounds to God.

ISRAEL HATED THEIR JOURNEY SO A TWO-WEEK TRIP TOOK FORTY YEARS.

Moses talks about the truth of God’s provision for His people in the wilderness:

Deuteronomy 2:7 - “The LORD your God has blessed everything you have done and has watched your every step through this great wilderness. During these forty years, the LORD your God has been with you and provided for your every need so that you lacked nothing.”’

Exodus 16:8 Moses also said, “You will know that it was the LORD when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the LORD.”
Numbers 11:1 Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp.
Listen to Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:6 - 11

-Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry. We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test the Lord, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the Fulfillment of the ages has come.—NIV

CHOOSING NOT TO GRUMBLE WILL LEAD TO GOD’S BLESSINGS

When Paul and Silas were arrested for casting demons out of a girl, they were beaten and thrown in jail. They were even fastened in stocks as if they we violent criminals. Paul and Silas were Romans citizens and never should have been forced to endure such treatment-but they did.

Rather than accusing, grumbling, threatening, blaming and excusing, Paul and Silas began to pray and sing to God not caring if the other prisoners could hear them. They set the example of praising God in all situations. Because of the choice these men made, they were able to not only lead the jailer to Christ but his entire family. If Paul and Silas had decided to cop an attitude of complaining, we’d have had a great tragedy to read about here instead of several miracles.

Come with me to a little Israeli village many years ago. It's getting dark and nervously a woman paces in her modest home. She is worried. She trembles as she sweeps the dirt floor from one side to the next. She stares into the darkness. It’s late and she begins to pray, "O God, where is Joseph? Where is he, Lord? It is getting late and I know he didn't find work today. I went to the market place and I saw him still standing there late in the afternoon. O Lord, where is he? Has something happened to him, or is he too ashamed to come home again empty handed?"

The mother feels a tug on her dress. It's her five year old daughter Elizabeth. She asks, "Mama, where is Daddy? Why hasn’t he come home yet? Is he bringing us something to eat? Mama, I'm hungry." And with that the door burst open and the husband says, "Hello, Elizabeth! Hello, Rebecca! Prepare the table, we have a feast! Look! I have bread, I have cheese, I have figs -and for the two women in my life, a little bit of honey!"

"Joseph, where did you get all of this? I know you didn't work, I went by the market place and I saw you standing there late in the day." He said, "The most amazing thing happened to me today. I was standing in the market place waiting for someone to come by and hire me. It was getting late and many had given up. Others had gone to work and just a few of us were standing there. I just couldn't come home empty handed again. I couldn't stand another night just lying in bed when sleep wouldn’t come. The growling of my empty stomach could not drown out her words, 'Daddy, I'm hungry.'

I was almost ready to give up when around the eleventh hour the most unusual thing happened. A fellow came up and he yelled to us and asked us why we weren't working. We said, "No one has hired us." He said, "I'll hire you! Come on and work!"

"It was late in the day but a few pennies were better than nothing at all, so I went and worked in the vineyard. There were people there who had been working a long time. You could tell they were tired and hot. We worked for only an hour. Then the land owner gathered us together to pay us, and would you believe he paid us first, the ones who had only worked an hour, not those who had worked three hours or six hours or nine hours or twelve hours. And would you believe he gave us wages for an entire day? We worked one single hour and we were paid for an entire day! I was so happy. I ran to the market place and bought all of this food. Doesn't it look good? We’ll have a feast tonight."

"As I was in the market place, I heard some of the workers who had worked longer than I had grumbling. They were just downright mad. I didn't say anything, I just came on home. I just couldn't wait to get home with this food. Let’s gather around table and thank God for the favor He has given us."

"Joseph,” the wife said, “may I ask you something? I'm curious, why are there just three loaves instead of the customary four? And are my eyes deceiving me, it looks like someone has cut off half of the cheese?" "Well, you're right. I hope its okay but on the way home I thought of the widow Sarah and I stopped by her house and gave her some of the bread and cheese.”

Wiping tears from her eyes, Rebecca says, "Oh Joseph, you know it's more than alright. Let's bow and thank God."

You may not have ever heard that parable in this way. It's a strange story when you think about it.

Right in the middle of this is the landowner. You and I know the land owner represents God and shows to us the nature of God. This land owner is unpredictable and generous to a fault. He will do what he will with his favor and with his money because he wishes to do so.

The land owner honored his agreement with those who worked twelve hours. They got exactly what they contracted for. He was also generous and kind to those who only worked an hour. He didn't want them to go home empty handed to a hungry family.

Where are you in this parable? I'm sure that probably every single one of us at some time has been the one-hour worker, and sometimes we have been the twelve-hour worker.

We've been in it all day long, we've been in the baking hot sun and the dry and dusty heat is choking our throats. We have worked in the nursery for thirty years. We have changed more diapers than Gerber. We have done it all! We've listened to more dry, dusty sermons than we can count. We've tithed and every time the church would have a special program then we would give above our tithe.

We've served on every committee. We have been there every time the door has opened and sometimes we have dragged our children screaming and kicking to the church. We've done it all! We've been there; we've been the pillar of the church! We sometimes feel that the church could not get along if we were not there.

But here they come, those “newbie” converts bopping in the church with their flowered short sleeve shirts and Bermuda shorts and tennis shoes and their crazy looking hair and say, "Man, let's get turned on to Jesus!" And they get turned on to Jesus. They have never listened to any of those long dry, boring sermons, never worked in Sunday School. They think John 3:16 is a rest room on the third floor. They don't know a Benediction from a Trout. They know nothing. They respond to Jesus in faith and they are going to get the same thing we are? Is this fair?

We have a choice. We can either be gracious and thankful for what God has given to us or we can gripe and complain and grumble that God has been gracious to others.

The wonderful thing is that God can change our attitude. God wants to make us gracious. God has been generous to us. He sent His Son Jesus to die on Calvary's Cross for you and for me, because of His love and His grace you can be forgiven and have a home in Heaven. Our part is to accept it and be gracious. We can't do anything else.

If you could give one gift to your children, what would you give them? Would that gift be gratitude? God's work of grace is to make us gracious and take the criticalness and complaints out of us.

He has made more progress with some of us than He has with others.

The very act of praising God in every situation can nourish our faith and strengthen and encourage us, as well as those around us who are affected by our grumbling or our gratitude.

….he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.-Proverbs 15:15


Blessings,


John