Does Complaining Accomplish Anything?
Be grateful for all things
I’m completing it with a secret plan that has been hidden for ages and generations but which has now been revealed to his holy people. God wanted to make the glorious riches of this secret plan known among the Gentiles, which is Christ living in you, the hope of glory! (Colossians 1:26–27, CEB)
The Thanksgiving holiday is upon us. Christians have so much for which to be grateful. Yet, despite God’s abundance of blessings and grace, many have a complaining, ungrateful attitude.
With our pitiful moans, we cry to God, “Life is unjust, unfair, and cruel.” I’ve heard kids say this to their parents when they don’t get what they want. Have you ever witnessed a child in a department store pitching a fit and screaming at the top of their lungs all because the parent refuses to buy the toy they clutch in their hand? I have.
Let’s face it; we are no different when God does not answer our prayers as we hoped. We are God’s children, acting like children.
Children sometimes gripe.
Have we forgotten that we are children of the Most-Hight God? Yet, we gripe and whine. Who in their right mind would want to join a family of complainers? Does a whining attitude help or hurt our witness?
Children need reminders to say, “Thank you.”
God, through Jesus Christ, has adopted us into His Family. Yet, we can be so busy comparing how much better the other guy has it that we forget to say, “Thank you” for the many things we have.
Children have immature table manners.
We have the invitation to feast at the table of the Lord. Yet, we choose to nibble on Satan’s lies. Satan knows full well we are Children of the King. Still, if He can keep feeding us under the table on his crumbs of self-pity, apathy, inferiority, grudge-holding, fear, and lies, we will soon become immature, malnourished Christians.
It’s time to grow up!
We must grow in the knowledge of God’s will and mature in wisdom and spiritual understanding. We can live lives worthy of the Lord and pleasing to Him because He will strengthen us to endure everything patiently. God set us free through Jesus and forgave us of our sins. We take part in His inheritance when He rescued us from darkness and drew us into His light. He gave us the keys to His kingdom.
Wow! We have access to all God has to offer through Jesus Christ. The mystery hidden in God is no longer a mystery. We complete His great revelation that we are one through Him.
God is calling us to get up off the floor and sit at His table where He has placed before us a heaping bowl of His manifold wisdom with dishes of forgiveness, peace, comfort, strength, and hope — all served up on His silver platters of grace and love.
We can’t help but jump up and down with joy when we remember this:
[Y]you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people who are God’s own possession. You have become this people so that you may speak of the wonderful acts of the one who called you out of darkness into his amazing light. (1 Peter 2:9, CEB)
Does complaining accomplish anything? Why yes, it does! It alienates people, hurts our witness, and grows a fungus of bitterness in our souls. Instead of complaining, focus on God’s blessings.
Be joyful and give thanks!
