I'd like to make a complaint!
0 comments | Posted by Steven Layson on 29 Jun 2008 in From Steve's Study ::
A monk joined a monastery and took a vow of silence. After the first 10 years his superior called him in and asked, “Do you have anything to say?” The monk replied, “Food bad.” After another 10 years the monk again had opportunity to voice his thoughts. He said, “Bed hard.” Another 10 years went by and again he was called in before his superior. When asked if he had anything to say, he responded, “I quit.” “It doesn’t surprise me a bit. You’ve done nothing but complain ever since you got here.”
There are some people who just can’t resist complaining. The weather is either too hot or too cold, too wet or too dry; the food is too spicy or too bland; the company is too quiet or too talkative. Some claim that the English (like myself) are the worst complainers in the world (how do you know if there is a plane full of Englishmen? The whine continues when the engines are turned off.)
If there were an Olympic event for complaining, however, the gold medal would surely go to the Israelites that God brought out of Egypt. The food was too dull, there wasn’t enough water etc, etc… never mind the fact that it was their fault that they were wandering around the desert in the first place! If they hadn’t doubted God’s love and power, they would have been sunning themselves in the Promised Land by this time.
In Numbers 21, we see them at it again – whinge, whinge, whinge! Rather than thanking God for so faithfully and miraculously providing them food and water in the desert, they would prefer to go back to Egypt to be slaves and to allow their boys to be slaughtered! So God sends venomous snakes and many of them are bitten and die. Finally they get the message and cry out to God for forgiveness and mercy, which he duly gives in a most unexpected way (I won’t spoil the surprise!). But suffice to say that God shows mercy despite the fact that he knows they don’t deserve it.
Many churches today are still beset by the “complaining bug”. Despite the fact that God has been so gracious and loving towards us, as we see most clearly in the gift of his Son, there are some who will always find something to complain about… the music’s too loud or too old-fashioned; the seats are too uncomfortable or too “new”; the services are too formal, or not formal enough; the minister preaches for too long, or not in enough detail; and so it goes on.
The Apostle Paul encourages us to be careful how we use our words. He says that our conversation should be always “full of grace” (Col 4:6), that we should always speak in such a way that we “edify” the church (1 Cor 14), and that we should “encourage one another and build each other up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11). So let’s never fall into the “complaining” trap, but rather give thanks to God for his many blessings and rejoice in the salvation we have received through his Son.
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