I wake up with the joint of every limb aching and sore from the previous day's work. Feeling like the Tin Woodsman, I roll out of bed and try to rub the sleep from my eyes. To the bathroom to wash my eyes and face and then I make my way into the kitchen for coffee and to slowly adjust to the fact that I'm alive and awake. I may shiver a little from the cooler overnight temperature in our house. If all is well and I choose to do so, I can turn my attention to something other than what I feel like complaining about. The sun has decided not make an appearance this morning. Great, another cloudy day. I step outside to start the car. Drats, it's raining. AGAIN! And I have begun the Descent into the valley of Discontent, which can lead to the highway of Despair. Dispondency and Discouragement decide to join me and away we go. Before I know it, the day has begun all wrong and I have to drop back and punt.
You may say, “Wow, that's a long way to get to from just a little soreness when you wake up!” But that is how quickly we can find ourselves headed onto that path to start out our day. We do it when the Winter drags on and we're ready for Spring. We do it when the sun is not shining that day. Add a little car trouble or spilling your coffee on your clothes you just put on for work and it can start to steer you down that road. How about a retailer not having enough registers open or the person in front of you with a cart full of groceries going into the 20 or less checkout line. A customer service representative walking away from the counter, knowing you were next and standing there. The driver behind you not wanting you to just do the speed limit. If you didn't know any better, you would think you had suddenly been thrown into a NASCAR race. The workload is greater than you think your team can get done that day. The bathroom ran out of paper towels or handsoap, or the custodian is cleaning it, just at the moment you decide to go. You wait in line at the drive-thru just to find out that they didn't have any more of what you had been craving. The kids won't clean their room and won't help with other chores. The husband sits too long watching his tv show rather than giving you a hand. There are many things that we can find ourselves complaining and griping about. They may be only little moments when we catch ourselves, but if left unchecked they can become a series of decisions to go negative rather than an isolated moment of whining weakness.
I see this in myself and I really don't like it. When we see a little child doing it it may be cute for a few minutes. We chalk it up to them having on their “grumpy- pants” and laugh it off. But in us as adults it is pretty unattractive. Especially for those of us who follow Christ. If anyone who ever walked this earth had reason to complain, it would be Jesus. Imagine the carpenter's son getting a splinter or dealing with a tough customer. What about the denseness of the disciples and how they didn't seem to catch it every time he mentioned that He was going to die. Imagine putting up with Peter and his rashness. Or James and John getting their mother involved in the eternal seating order decision? What if he shouted out “Come On!”, when the crowd picked Barabbas for release rather than Him? What if He decided in the moments before His death to whine and complain about having to die for us and our sins? What if he griped about the crown of thorns that he wouldn't have to even wear if Adam and Eve hadn't sinned in the Garden (Genesis 3:18). I'm sure the cross of wood was heavy and maybe even itchy on His back. What if He complained about the size of the nails that the Roman soldiers used? I can imagine that Jesus had thousands of things that He could have complained about in His lifetime, and yet we do not find that to be true.
In Phillipians 2:14, the Word of God says for us not to complain, whine, grumble, murmer, bicker or find fault, depending on the translation you prefer. That says a mouthful, especially when we can find situations everyday to do so. This is, or should be a convicting passage. It has been for me, as I am trying to be more aware of those sins that we don't even seem to notice about ourselves. As with everything else in our daily walk, this is one area that we may not notice until we take a step back and look into the mirror. As we examine ourselves and look into that mirror (James 1:22-24), we should be able to clearly see the things about ourselves that are not attractive to others. I have to ask myself if I am actually pushing others away from Christ by griping and complaining, among other things. Some days the problem is just me and I stink. With attitudes that are not Christ-like and thoughts that are mainly self-centered, I can start that journey into all of the “D” words: Discouragement, Discontentment, Disappointment, Disapproval, Disdain, Displeasure, Distraught, Disunity and all other forms of Disobedience to God's Word. And if I think it's OK, because I don't give voice to them and only think these thoughts; then how wrong I am about that as well (Matthew 12:34)! See, when my heart stinks and I have an attitude that stinks, I am dangerous to the Gospel message that I claim to want to be about. I must repent. I must reallign and reorient myself with the Father who knows me and knows that I do not want to remain in those thoughts of negativity. So I have a choice to make. I can stop at the first instance of complaint, or I can keep piling it on until I become as gloomy as Eeyore or as nasally and whiny as Doug and Wendy Whiner.
It has been stated: Attitudes are contagious, is yours worth catching? Man, I hope not! I have some days when I can't stand to be around myself. But as I have come to realize, I am only doing what I choose to do. I am not finding the good and am focusing on how things are negative, instead of choosing to be positive and look at them from a more optimistic viewpoint. If I so choose, I can “give thanks in everything” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). The Bible says that this is God's will for me. So in this area of my life, I can know that this is what He wants and expects of me. I think I should choose this, don't you? I know that none of us can stand to be around people who are negative and find something to complain about all the time. Maybe we can remember that, as we start to go negative. I know that I want to be more mindful of this as I move forward in my walk with Him.
You may say, “Wow, that's a long way to get to from just a little soreness when you wake up!” But that is how quickly we can find ourselves headed onto that path to start out our day. We do it when the Winter drags on and we're ready for Spring. We do it when the sun is not shining that day. Add a little car trouble or spilling your coffee on your clothes you just put on for work and it can start to steer you down that road. How about a retailer not having enough registers open or the person in front of you with a cart full of groceries going into the 20 or less checkout line. A customer service representative walking away from the counter, knowing you were next and standing there. The driver behind you not wanting you to just do the speed limit. If you didn't know any better, you would think you had suddenly been thrown into a NASCAR race. The workload is greater than you think your team can get done that day. The bathroom ran out of paper towels or handsoap, or the custodian is cleaning it, just at the moment you decide to go. You wait in line at the drive-thru just to find out that they didn't have any more of what you had been craving. The kids won't clean their room and won't help with other chores. The husband sits too long watching his tv show rather than giving you a hand. There are many things that we can find ourselves complaining and griping about. They may be only little moments when we catch ourselves, but if left unchecked they can become a series of decisions to go negative rather than an isolated moment of whining weakness.
I see this in myself and I really don't like it. When we see a little child doing it it may be cute for a few minutes. We chalk it up to them having on their “grumpy- pants” and laugh it off. But in us as adults it is pretty unattractive. Especially for those of us who follow Christ. If anyone who ever walked this earth had reason to complain, it would be Jesus. Imagine the carpenter's son getting a splinter or dealing with a tough customer. What about the denseness of the disciples and how they didn't seem to catch it every time he mentioned that He was going to die. Imagine putting up with Peter and his rashness. Or James and John getting their mother involved in the eternal seating order decision? What if he shouted out “Come On!”, when the crowd picked Barabbas for release rather than Him? What if He decided in the moments before His death to whine and complain about having to die for us and our sins? What if he griped about the crown of thorns that he wouldn't have to even wear if Adam and Eve hadn't sinned in the Garden (Genesis 3:18). I'm sure the cross of wood was heavy and maybe even itchy on His back. What if He complained about the size of the nails that the Roman soldiers used? I can imagine that Jesus had thousands of things that He could have complained about in His lifetime, and yet we do not find that to be true.
In Phillipians 2:14, the Word of God says for us not to complain, whine, grumble, murmer, bicker or find fault, depending on the translation you prefer. That says a mouthful, especially when we can find situations everyday to do so. This is, or should be a convicting passage. It has been for me, as I am trying to be more aware of those sins that we don't even seem to notice about ourselves. As with everything else in our daily walk, this is one area that we may not notice until we take a step back and look into the mirror. As we examine ourselves and look into that mirror (James 1:22-24), we should be able to clearly see the things about ourselves that are not attractive to others. I have to ask myself if I am actually pushing others away from Christ by griping and complaining, among other things. Some days the problem is just me and I stink. With attitudes that are not Christ-like and thoughts that are mainly self-centered, I can start that journey into all of the “D” words: Discouragement, Discontentment, Disappointment, Disapproval, Disdain, Displeasure, Distraught, Disunity and all other forms of Disobedience to God's Word. And if I think it's OK, because I don't give voice to them and only think these thoughts; then how wrong I am about that as well (Matthew 12:34)! See, when my heart stinks and I have an attitude that stinks, I am dangerous to the Gospel message that I claim to want to be about. I must repent. I must reallign and reorient myself with the Father who knows me and knows that I do not want to remain in those thoughts of negativity. So I have a choice to make. I can stop at the first instance of complaint, or I can keep piling it on until I become as gloomy as Eeyore or as nasally and whiny as Doug and Wendy Whiner.
It has been stated: Attitudes are contagious, is yours worth catching? Man, I hope not! I have some days when I can't stand to be around myself. But as I have come to realize, I am only doing what I choose to do. I am not finding the good and am focusing on how things are negative, instead of choosing to be positive and look at them from a more optimistic viewpoint. If I so choose, I can “give thanks in everything” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). The Bible says that this is God's will for me. So in this area of my life, I can know that this is what He wants and expects of me. I think I should choose this, don't you? I know that none of us can stand to be around people who are negative and find something to complain about all the time. Maybe we can remember that, as we start to go negative. I know that I want to be more mindful of this as I move forward in my walk with Him.
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