Complaining is infectious. If you begin to tell me your complaints, I will probably sympathise with you and even add a few gripes of my own – and so the virus spreads. But, after all, there is so much to complain about isn’t there? Look at the world today, reeling from crisis to crisis. And who could trust any politician even to begin solving our national problems? The news headlines depict a thoroughly depressing scene: rising unemployment, escalating crime, and falling standards of morality are but a few of the characteristics of the present day. Apart from the myriad petty frustrations of daily life there are often personal health problems, heartbreaking family problems, and perplexing assembly problems to contend with. With so much that is wrong, unjust, and unfair in the world we might conclude that complaining is justifiable.
Then sometimes we older Christians are prone to become nostalgic about the past when we remind our younger believers that "the former days were better" (Eccl 7.10). Such a pronouncement, however, will not be of much help to them. We would do well to remember that young believers only know the present, and this is the day, dark though it may be, in which God is looking for them to shine brightly for Him. They cannot choose an earlier day or a future one. Is it not true that the darker the night, the brighter and further a light will shine?
In any situation, no matter how dire, we must choose how we will respond to it. We need to learn to make the right choice so that complaining is avoided, otherwise it can become not only infectious but also endemic. The children of Israel became chronic murmurers and seemed to be blind to the blessings God had showered upon them. The miracle of delivering the populous nation from bondage and sustaining them for years in the wilderness was lost on them. All they could do was moan at Moses and grumble at God. They lusted after the food of Egypt, having conveniently forgotten the sting of the lash and the backbreaking labour imposed upon them by their cruel taskmasters. No wonder the Scripture says that "with many of them God was not well pleased" (1 Cor 10.5).
How we respond to the trials and tribulations of life will all depend upon our point of view:
Two men looked out of prison bars;
One saw mud, and the other saw stars.
There is a better option by far than complaining: try praising. The praising Christian is neither a blind optimist nor a deluded escapist; he is a realist. His feet are planted upon earth but his heart is in heaven. His spirit is able to soar above the clouds and see things as they really are, as God sees them. He has spiritual vision and understanding, and his faith in an almighty unchanging God gives him divine hope. He thus becomes an encouragement to other hard-pressed believers. At the same time, he can appear as a strange anomaly to those who know not God. How confounded must the other prisoners have been in the Philippian jail when they heard Paul and Silas singing praises to God at midnight (Acts 16.25)? Their backs were freshly scourged and bleeding, but this was of little consequence to them. No wonder it became a night of miracles: God sent an earthquake to rouse a sleeping sinner; nobody was injured or killed; no one escaped; the jailer was saved and his household too.
Once we start learning to praise Him in every circumstance of life, it will soon become even more infectious than complaining. The reasons for giving thanks to God every day are so numerous that eternity will not exhaust them. We mention only three that are simple but nevertheless truly wonderful. You add your own and keep on adding.
We have been forgiven
Here is something to really cheer you up – your sins are gone, forever! Never forget how serious they were in the sight of God and where they would have led you. A loving Saviour suffered for them; they were laid upon Him and He bore them all away. We never deserved such grace (and we never will) but we can rejoice and sing in the words of Samuel Davies:
Who is a pardoning God like Thee?
Or who has grace so rich and free?
While we should not become careless and presume upon the goodness of God, we can revel and exult in this glorious truth of full and free forgiveness.
We are loved
One elderly Christian used to say that when he got up in the morning he just wrapped himself in the love of God – no better dressing gown than this. And God’s love for us translates into daily care and provision for all our needs. God must provide for all our needs as He has promised, otherwise He would not be God. His love is constant and unfailing, limitless and eternal. And so another few lines come to mind, this time by George Wade Robinson:
Loved with everlasting love,
Led by grace that love to know.
In a cold and callous world, what warmth and strength flow from the abiding love of God!
We are travelling home
It is so easy for us all to become earthbound in our thinking. We can plan and scheme as if we are here to stay, but the truth is that everything of earth will pass away and we too must pass on. We are only strangers and pilgrims here. Let us see life for what it is – an opportunity to serve Him and be faithful to Him each step of the road, no matter how rough and hard the journey may be. We can rejoice that the end is assured: the glory of heaven lies ahead and our Saviour is waiting to meet us. So then, leave the complaining to others and let’s travel home praising.
Concluded.
