Put A Lid On It

Complaints and Complaining

One dog barks at something, the rest bark at him.

Chinese Proverb


James 5:8-10
You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door. As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. NASU

How do you think God feels when He hears our complaining? Let’s go to the Word of God to find out: In Num 11:1 we find God listening to whom He called the “Rabble and the Greedy;” Now the people became like those who complain of adversity in the hearing of the LORD; and when the LORD heard it, His anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp.

What should we do when we feel like complaining? Earl Musselman felt the need to complain early one morning, he leaves us this story; “The sun was shining in my eyes, and I could barely see to do the necessary task that was allotted me. In resentment of the vivid glow I started to complain. When all at once upon the air I heard the blind man's cane.” Yes, sometimes we are spoiled, aren’t we? We are constantly advertizing our wants, without thankfulness that we are not getting what we deserve, and without thankfulness for what we have.

I feel as if we are too quick to complain in today’s society. Benjamin Franklin said that constant complaint is the poorest way to give thankfulness for all the comforts we enjoy, but it seems as if the more we get the more we feel we deserve. My thinking is that all complaints should be well cooked, that is we should keep the lid on them until the nonsense is steamed out and any substance is revealed.

Now how do we go about doing that? Well, we place these things before "The King" for "His" inspection. Now remember, He isn’t that fond of complaints, so that means that if you bring something, it better have substance. God will reveal that to you and me, but in the mean time, you don’t have to tell everyone else about it. You and I can be seen as a people that are thankful for what God has given us and not be counted with the selfish “rabble” of the world…God Bless.

Pastor William