Stop Whining

Verse of the day: Joshua 17:16 But the children of Joseph said, “The mountain country is not enough for us; and all the Canaanites who dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both those who are of Beth Shean and its towns and those who are of the Valley of Jezreel.”

One of the most unattractive things about Christianity is a whiny, complaining Christian. The children of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) were complaining that they did not have enough land, when in reality there was enough land for them. It appears they were being too lazy to clear the land that was available to them. Sadly, this shows that they were an ungrateful people who complained even when God blessed them with much. They were quick to use the Canaanites as an excuse for needing more land, because they alleged that the Canaanites had chariots of iron, and were therefore more powerful. Yet, these were the very people they enslaved into forced labor. How silly do we look and sound when we make irrational excuses for our ungratefulness and lack of contentment? We do much damage to our testimony when we do nothing but complain when God calls us to serve in a particular manner or we complain when it is obvious to others that we have many blessings in our lives. My favorite verses in Scripture that keep me focused on giving thanks for all that God has given me, regardless of how much or how little, is Hebrews 13:5-6. These verses read, “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ 6 So we may boldly say: ‘The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’” How much more can we ask for, and how much can we accomplish, knowing that we have Jesus, in whom we have life eternal, and in Him we have all things? The bottom line is that anything God gives us above and beyond our salvation is “icing on the cake”. When we begin to put our eyes on what we do not have, that we think we need, we not only become ungrateful, but we become complainers and whiners. Philippians 2:14-15 tells us, “Do all things without complaining and disputing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world”. We are called to do ALL things without complaining and disputing. That means not complaining about what we think we do not have, and unlike the children of Joseph who were blessed, but complained because they had to work to appreciate their blessing, let us be a people who thank God for what we have, even if we have to labor a bit to show our appreciation. Many of us complain that we do not have this or that, or we complain that we have to pay this bill or that bill; yet, we may have a job and our health, and we are able to go to work (which is a blessing), earn a living and pay for the things we need. Sadly, because many of us have become covetous for the things of the world and mismanaged our finances, we have become complainers and grumblers because we cannot make enough to get the things we want (not really things we need). We do not think of the consequences of our whining, but let us not forget what we just read in Philippians 2:15. We are to be “children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world”; in other words, when we become covetous whiners and complainers, the light of our testimony for Christ dims. In Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Finally, Ephesians 4:29 tell us, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” When we complain against God and what we are called to do, because we are not getting what we want, we are speaking corrupt words. Ephesians 4:31 tells us to let all bitterness and evil speaking be put away from us. When we are ungrateful for what God has already given us, we eventually become bitter and we get “diarrhea of the mouth” with our complaining, which is speaking evil. Let us be a people who is thankful and who express thankfulness to God and to those around us (I did not say “boast”), not just verbally, but by having an attitude of thankfulness and contentment; for if we only have Christ, we have far more than the majority of the people around us.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).