Quit Complaining…or Die.
Adults whine too.
Life sucks. Why can’t I have a bigger house? Why does the policeman always pull me over? I need more time to myself. My kids don’t appreciate me enough. My husband doesn’t tell me he loves me. Why can’t things be the way they used to be? Why is gas so expensive!? Why does no one help me when I need it? The president is ruining our way of life! I feel unhappy.
I don’t usually think of grown-ups complaining, but we do it as much as my tantrum-throwing toddler. Our adult version of whining often masquerades behind a “mood.” A pervasive bad feeling that sits in our gut and spoils our enjoyment with life. A gripe props up bitterness. A whine fuels depression. A complaint motivates a bad temper. A grumble spoon-feeds heartache.
A lethal habit
The Israelites were master complainers. “Oh, they grumble on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, grumble on Wednesday too! Grumble on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, grumble the whole week through!” is how a song from my childhood went. Their default was to find something they didn’t like and then talk about it. Murmuring is how the King James Bible words it.
A bit of history in Paul’s words.
For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.Their bodies were scattered over the desert! What the? What happened?
God led the descendants of his special friend, Abraham, out of brutal slavery in Egypt to the land he had promised them, Caanan (today, Israel). Literally, they followed Him in the form of a cloud through the Red Sea, on dry ground. When food ran low, God provided heavenly bread that appeared overnight outside their doors, and poultry that were easily caught and cooked. When water was scarce, God provided from the rocks around them. Everyday they saw the mysterious glory of God Himself settle on the tabernacle in the middle of their settlement. Yet, all the people who left Egypt never made it to Caanan. They died in the desert, save a few faithful. God killed them. Is He a cosmic turn-coat, or was something sinister occurring in these people that had to be ruthlessly destroyed?
Back to Paul’s history lesson in 1 Corinthains.
These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us… 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.In spite of being given freedom, daily meat and bread, water and guidance by the visible presence of God, they murmured. They spoke sour words that revealed the wickedness in their hearts. And it wasn’t a one-time offense. The Israelites had developed an automatic and comfortable response to their life’s circumstances – they complained. No matter what God did for them ,they always wanted more. No matter the gift, they were never content. And over time, God killed them for it.
Look again at Paul’s summation in 1 Corinthians. False religion, sexual promiscuity and bossing God around like a personal slave are on the same par with complaining. All are equally disgusting to our good God. They are all death-traps.
God is ruthless in His pursuit of our good. We must recognize that sometimes God has the right to be pissed off that we aren’t grateful for His gifts. He knows that the way of the complainer is the way of death.
These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 1 Cor 10:11-12Take the First Step
A leader will have initiative.
A leader will have initiative. I believe this so strongly, that I will go so far to say that any person with initiative is a leader.
The American Heritage® Dictionary defines initiative as the power or ability to begin or to follow through energetically with a plan or task.
Funny, those things listed in that definition came to mind as I was trying to get a handle on my thoughts about leadership. I thought: Leaders start. Leaders do. Leaders finish. Good leaders bounce. Initiative equals my idea of leadership.
Leaders notice.
But, let me back step first. Before a person even starts something, he has to first notice something needs to be done. Leaders observe and consider. They are aware of what is going on around them and inside them. I don’t know how or why some people do this, but some do it naturally and lots don’t.
Romans 12 hints that this awareness can be self-taught, at least in a spiritual sense. It says to morph your thinking away from worldly philosophies toward God’s thoughts, so you can test and analyze the rightness of things around you. It also focuses that awareness inward. Evaluate yourself with careful thought. And of course, look to others. We are to be interested in other people.
What do you notice? Do you see things that need to be done? Do you ever say to yourself, “Someone should say something or do something about this thing?” Wink, wink. You just might be a leader! Go to the next step.
Leaders do.
At some point, leaders start. They may not be gifted at starting something from scratch, but they start at some point. They begin. They don’t sit around and wait, they commence activity. Others may join. Or not. The point is not to have a following, but to do something effective. To accomplish a task you noticed needing doing.
Blessings are for those who do what they know is the right thing to do. Jesus said that its not the knowing, but the doing that counts.
Joseph, one of the greatest leaders in the Bible, couldn’t stop doing. No matter where God put him, Joe got to work. A lowly house-slave, “the Lord gave him success in everything he did.” An inmate in Pharaoh’s prison, “the Lord gave him success in everything he did.” Joseph had initiative. No matter his situation, he noticed work to be done and started working.
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might. Ecclesiastes 9:10
Leaders differ.
Leaders come in all forms and personalities. Some lead multitudes. Some lead one. Some lead well. Some don’t. Some lead with flair. Some fizzle. The level and scope of your leadership depends on many factors. Much has been written about how to be a good leader and develop greater capabilities. But the commonality to all this leading is moving on, getting something done. At the bottom of every person guiding another is initiative. Just do it!
Forgiving is unfair and brutal.
When we’ve screwed up really bad, seeking forgiveness is the only option left to us. Usually we feel dreadful remorse for our action.
If only I could rewind time, I’d do everything differently!
I can’t believe I did this!
If only I knew now what I knew then, I wouldn’t have behaved like that!
But all those statements are how we try to “make it up” to those we’ve sinned against. Usually, they only make the person feel worse. Why? Because we are showing that we aren’t taking full responsibility. We are looking for another way out beside confessing that we grabbed what we wanted and to hell with anyone who got in our way. We try to pay off the debt of our sin with futile, useless words. But seeking forgiveness is the only option left to us.
We balk at asking for forgiveness because it takes the matter out of our control. It transfers the burden to the goodwill of another.We have to heave all our crap at someone else and hope they catch it, without throwing it back.
No matter what the wrong, there is always a cost. The cost may be money, emotional pain, physical ailments, or a change in life. Justice demands payment. Eye for an eye. Hit me, I get to hit you back. When you seek forgiveness you say to the person you wronged, “Will you, the person who didn’t do anything wrong, agree to pay the consequences of my crappy behavior?” If I punch you,will you take the pain without making me pay with a broken arm? Will you suffer and release me from suffering?
Forgiving kinda sucks.
In a fair situation, you pay me what you owe. I have the right to demand action when I’ve been wronged. I have recourse. But when I forgive, I promise not to make you pay. I give up my right to bring punishment. And in doing so, I absorb the cost.
How unfair.
In a fair world, if I behave well and make good choices, I live good. If you behave badly, you get to suffer for it, not me! But when I forgive, I agree to absorb all the wrong inflicted. It’s now my pain, my debt, my punishment.
How brutal. How God-like.
Stumble It!
