Complaints Not Allowed

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe. Philippians 2:14-15 (NIV)      

Our society has become fractured and polarized, with individuals criticizing others about almost every topic possible. A number of years ago, I heard about a book called “A Complaint Free World.” The author, Will Bowen, is a minister and he suggested trying to break the habit of complaining by going 21 days in a row without complaining. He even suggested wearing a bracelet and moving it to the other wrist each time you complain. It doesn’t take a specific kind of bracelet, but a search for “complaint bracelet” on Amazon.com returned 166 items. 

I haven’t tried it, in part because I doubt whether I’d last more than one day. There are days when I think I might spend most of my time moving the bracelet.   

We have a lot of synonyms for “complain”: beef, bellyache, carp, crab, croak, fuss, gripe, grouse, growl, grumble, moan, mutter, squawk, wail, whine, and yammer. And then there are related words, like protest, quibble, fret, stew, worry, bemoan, bewail, deplore, and lament. There are at least 29 references to complain or complaints in the Bible. 

The thesaurus lists several “near antonyms,” including accept, bear, countenance, endure, tolerate, applaud, cheer, and commend. But there’s only one antonym listed: REJOICE. 

It’s easy to complain, bellyache, growl, mutter and whine. If it’s not the weather, it’s that driver who just cut you off, or the sales clerk who was a little short with you, or the price of gas, or the co-worker who just gets on your nerves. 

But how easy is it to rejoice? It shouldn’t be that difficult, should it? We can rejoice because we are able to worship together, to give thanks to God for our blessings, to know that our prayers are heard and answered. We can rejoice in the fact that Jesus died for our sins and paid the ultimate sacrifice so that we can have eternal life. The next time you find yourself complaining about something, why not stop and, instead, rejoice in the risen Lord.

          

Prayer: Dear God, we ask for your help in changing our habit of complaining. We have much to rejoice about, yet we find it easier to grouse about the little things that irritate us. With your help, we can work to shine like stars in the universe and exult in the knowledge that you are our savior. 

 

Robin Hadfield (reprinted from 2018)