A frustrated female investment banker had a problem with her looks. It wasn’t that she felt unattractive. Au contraire. She believed that she was too good-looking to be effective at work. Her complaint went like this: “I feel [my beauty is] holding me back. Female colleagues distrust me, while male colleagues are drawn to me but don’t take me very seriously. . . . What can I do, short of turning up to work in a [garbage bag]?”
My heart goes out to this lady—really, it does. At the same time, I wonder if complaining about her problem brought any lasting relief. Belly-aching didn’t seem to get the Israelites very far; it only angered the God who freed them from slavery (Numbers 11:1). Still, the Israelites kept it up: We’re parched. We don’t like the management (Moses and Aaron). Our stomachs are growling. We’re sick of the manna. We need some meat! And by the way, we’ve had enough of the wilderness tour.
The Israelites certainly became quite the complainers. God Himself, however, demonstrated a different way to handle sub-par circumstances. He said, “I have always moved from one place to another with a tent and a tabernacle as My dwelling. Yet no matter where I have gone with the Israelites, I have never once complained to Israel’s tribal leaders” (2 Samuel 7:6-7). It’s amazing that the God of the universe lived in a desert tent right next to His people, and He did it without “kvetching” once!
Let’s follow God’s example and the apostle Paul’s instruction—choosing to “do everything without complaining” (Philippians 2:14). The next time you have to take out the trash, eat leftovers (again), or deal with a crazy driver, try to hold back from complaining. It’s a chance to give the world a glimpse of God’s holiness.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Jeremiah 38:1-13
More:
Read John 6:40-46 to see how Jesus responded to some complainers. Read Psalm 106:24-25 to see the relationship between doubt and grumbling.
Next:
How might finding contentment in Christ help prevent us from complaining? The next time you’re tempted to complain, what might you do instead?
melanierweber on May 26, 2012 at 3:22 pm
I love this passage hearing God’s own voice of being homeless. Moving on to the next home. Fits perfectly with our family’s experience for the past year.
jennifer benson schuldt on May 28, 2012 at 10:33 pm
melanie,
Thank you for sharing about your family’s experience with homelessness over the past year. Today I read about the Israelites as they traveled through the wilderness. When God freed them from Egypt, they didn’t have anywhere to go. However, God was with them. The Bible says that He went ahead of them, guiding them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and by night with a pillar of fire (Exodus 13:21-22). He never left them. I pray that no matter where you are in your journey to find a home, that you would have the assurance of God’s presence with you (Psalm 16:8), and His love for you (Ephesians 3:18-19).