Complaining Is Not Good

When w are asked what is the shortest verse in the Bible our answer is always, "Jesus Wept", two words. I have found two more verses that are just as short. 1 Thessalonians 5: 16 “Rejoice alway” and 1 Thessalonians 5: 17, “Pray continually". Then Paul goes on in verse 18, “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” All here verses are part of one sentence, but verses 16 and 17 are each only two words. These are great verses. They are great because when we rejoiced always and prayed continually we would never complain. 

Complaining is one of the worst things we can do. We are not happy when we complain. I know because I complain too much. My wife is the one who hears me complain the most. My complaining is not good for her or anyone else who happens to be on the wrong side of my complaints. The ones who don’t mind your complaining are those who are complaining right along with you. Complaining puts us in a place that we should never go. We become frustrated, moody and even angry. Those feelings linger and possibly become depressed. 

I was reading a devotional that mentioned how God feels about our complaining. "When we criticize or complain, we are acting as if we think we could run the world better than God."  God is sovereign. He has planned out our lives, and when we complain about what God is doing in our lives we are indicating that we think God is mismanaging us. Even in the most horrific experiences God is molding us into what he wants us to be. He is teaching us. Our response should not be to complain when things go sour. Rather we should give thanks, rejoice always and pray. As someone said to me yesterday, "Stop your bellyaching"!