Hey Friends,
First of all, I am not the blogger type. I don't really think that my thoughts carry much weight and so they're not really worth sharing much of the time, so this is a one time thing. That is not me being self conscious, it is merely an attempt to stop my words from becoming part of the incessant flow of information out there. I am only writing about this because I constantly fail at this and have been so strongly convicted in this area. That being said, I know that God still has the power to use my messy words to move hearts in some way.
I would say that I am a part of a pretty tight-knit group of Christians at the college I go to. It is honestly such a gift to have their friendship and encouragement in my life. Lately, however, it seems that we are in a rut. Many of us have fallen into the habit of grumbling about other christians, churches, church leaders, etc. This habit includes everything from gossip to complaining. When we complain about other Christians, it is a direct reflection of our disvalue of God and His plan.
In his book, "The Weight of Your Words", Joseph Stowell puts it very plainly: "Grumbling is a form of complaining that harbors a negative attitude toward a situation or the people involved. It runs the continuum from griping about the slow driver in front of you to murmuring against the Lord for things He has permitted to come into your life. The common factor in all grumbling is a critical spirit. This carries the potential for great damage and is a direct violation of God's will."
In scripture, this idea is well represented when the Israelites are traveling to Canaan. Upon their arrival, they sent 12 spies to check out the surrounding area. 10 spies returned giving a bad report about what they had seen: "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us. . . . The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size. . . . We became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight" (Numbers 13:31-33). In short, they were grumbling. Joshua and Caleb, the other two spies, had seen the same things. However, they trusted God to protect and deliver them as they moved forward.
Grumbling does 4 things that are destructive:
1. Grumbling bashes God's holiness- By grumbling, you are basically saying that what God is doing is wrong, when according to the bible, God can do no wrong.
2. Grumbling leads to self pity- By focusing on how you have been wronged, you allow yourself to fall into a pit of self-pity.
3. Grumbling thrives in fear- The more we grumble, the more fearful we become and the more we lose sight of the fact that God has power over everything.
4. Grumbling creates an attitude of dissatisfaction- By grumbling, you are expressing your dissatisfaction, criticism, and discontent.
Is it ever okay to be dissatisfied? Of course; we live in a fallen and evil world. Our attitudes must just always remain in the fact that God is in control and has the power to intervene if he chooses. We must use discretion when expressing our dissatisfaction.
How can we leave grumbling behind? Grumbling comes from our attitude of ingratitude that we have towards life. This ingratitude is rooted in our sense of entitlement. Our grumbling comes when we do not see things going the way that we think they should. It is, in essence, the action of our self-righteousness.
The flip-side of that coin is thankfulness. Thankfulness inspires an idea in our minds that we are a part of something so much greater than ourselves. It leads to selflessness and comfort because it causes the realization in our hearts of all that we have been blessed with.
Our God left heaven for us. Heaven. For us, a horribly wrong and evil people. He sent his ONLY son to die a horrific death for people who didn't even love him. Jesus was completely blameless and sinless. Jesus not only endured Hell, but conquered it. Everything we have in this life is because of God. Today, are we living more in a state of true, exciting gratitude, or a sense of ungrateful entitlement? Does our hope and thankfulness involve the circumstances of our present lives, or does it include hope of redemption and eternal life in the next?
"And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Colossians 3:15-17
To be honest, I have no authority to be saying any of this, but God is majorly at work in my heart in this area so excuse my ramblings.
-John
