Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.
Philippians 2:14-16
Sometimes I just want to complain. I want someone to relate to me and agree with me, and God help them if they don't. Even when I don't truly have something real to complain about, trust me, I'll find something.
But God commands us to do everything without complaining. Everything?! I read this verse and was instantly trying to find loopholes--ways I could complain in a "holy" way. Venting to Christian friends is okay, right? Complaining for the sake of stress relief or explanation is legit, right?
But as I continued reading into verses 15 and 16 and tried to understand the reason why we're commanded not to complain, it started becoming a little bit harder to justify my "holy complaints." God tells us not to complain so that we may become blameless and pure--I don't know about you, but I would love to be considered either of these things.
The other important reason for not complaining is that as God changes us through our contentment, we then begin to stand apart from others. A complaining Christian isn't a very good witness to those who don't follow God. Would someone want to follow God after hearing me complain about what he's doing or not doing? Doubtful.
The next time you're looking for a reason to justify your complaints, pause for a second and think about how your complaints will affect your purity, and how you'll affect others around you who'll listen to the complaint. Will it help you shine among them? I
f not, turn that complaint into a praise, and fast.
No comments:
Post a Comment