The Problem with Complaining

Have you ever let the unpleasantness of a project turn you into a seething blob of sarcastic crankiness?  Have you ever given into the temptation to grumble and complain? In these moments of discontent, we allow ourselves more freedom than we should.  We allow ourselves to "vent" our frustrations to whoever will listen.  But is this how we should act and speak?

This kind of behavior damages our witness.  When we spend all our time pointing out what is wrong, instead of doing what is right, it's sin.  It shouldn't matter what we are doing, we should do it for the glory of the Lord.  Mind numbing paperwork assigned to us by our superiors is to be filled out and filed in the joy of the Lord.  We should do it with such excellence that people notice the Lord's hand of blessing in our performance.

This is exactly what we see in the lives of Joseph and Daniel.  Everything they did was executed with such precision that it prospered under their hand.  Of course, their performance was the work of God in their lives, but the results were clearly visible.  The Scriptures don't record incidences of Joseph stomping around like a wounded bear growling at everyone.  Nor do we see Daniel whining because his boss, King Nebuchadnezzar, was a self-worshiping beast of a man.  Instead we see two men who labor for the Lord, in difficult situations under difficult leaders, all because they wanted to honor the Lord with their lives.  They were content in their situations, because they knew it wasn't all about them.  They were given life (and their circumstances) for a purpose.  That purpose was to glorify their God and King.

I easily forget that it's not all about me.  I can be selfish and pigheaded at times.  If I am not careful, I pout when things don't go my way.  It's sin, and I hate it.  I would not intentionally dishonor the name of God, but through my grumbling and complaining I have done just that.  Should I not be singing his praises instead of whining about the situation I'm in?  Which one honors God more--to joyfully tackle every situation with the help of the Lord, or to grumble about how unfair life is?  When we complain about life, we implicate God.  We accuse him of wrong doing, lack of wisdom, dishonesty, unfairness, and the list goes on.  Yet, we know that God is infinitely holy, righteous, wise, loving, honest, etc.  He is perfect in every way, and our life and lips should clearly declare that to the world.