Articles
Complaining
The Bible warns us about several different sins we might commit with our tongues. Controlling our tongue can sometimes be a challenging task (James 3:1-12). Yet a person’s religion is vain if he does not bridle or control his tongue (James 1:26). Christians are commanded to be different from the world around them (Matthew 5:13-16; Romans 12:1-2) and one area of distinction between the Christian and the world should be the type of speech a Christian uses. When thinking about controlling our tongue, we sometimes think about just not saying certain words which are considered bad words. A person can sin with the tongue without using any words which might be considered bad. One sin we might commit using our tongue is the sin of complaining. It is easy to think of complaining as not that big of a deal but it is sinful.
The Bible condemns complaining. Philippians 2:14-16 says, “Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain” (NKJV). When we complain after the Bible has said, “Do all things without complaining,” we have sinned against God. Jude 14-16 describes the conduct of certain evil men. It says, “Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousand of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.’ These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage” (NKJV). These verses teach grumblers and complainers are ungodly people who are walking according to their own lusts. Do we see ourselves and others in this light when they engage in the sin of grumbling or complaining? 1 Corinthians 10:1-12 reminds us of the lessons we can learn from the children of Israel in the wilderness. One of the things we ought to learn from their example is to not complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer (1 Corinthians 10:10). The children of Israel were a complaining group of people as we read about their time in the wilderness (Exodus 15:24; 16:2-3; 17:2-3; Numbers 11:1-6; 14:1-3; 16:8-11, 41; Deuteronomy 1:12, 26-27; Psalm 106:24-27). It is easy to look at the children of Israel’s complaints and think how bad they were and yet not see ourselves as similar to them when we complain at times.
What is so bad about complaining? Complaining makes us be someone people will not want to be around. Most people do not want to be around a person who complains all the time. Let’s make sure not to subject others to things we would not want to be subjected to ourselves (Matthew 7:12)! Complaining causes us to act just like the world. Philippians 2:14-15 points out one of the ways we stand out as different from the world around us is by not complaining. It is common to hear people in the world complaining about various things. If a Christian does not complain, people in the world will probably notice something is different. Complaining is often really an attack upon God. Moses would remind the children of Israel when they were complaining to him they were often really complaining against God (Exodus 16:7-9). God will speak about the Israelites complaining against Him (Numbers 14:26-29). Do we think about how when we are complaining we are often really complaining not just about someone else but also about God? Complaining is the opposite of thankfulness. God’s word commands us to be thankful people (Ephesians 5:4, 20; Colossians 3:15; 1 Thessalonians 5:18). When we are people filled with complaining instead of giving thanks, we are sinning against God. It is hard to be thankful when we are complaining so let’s stop complaining so we might be people who are thankful. Complaining hinders evangelism. When we are complaining about others, it is not likely that we are praying for them, giving thanks for them, and thinking about them being saved (1 Timothy 2:1-6). When we complain, it is probably going to be hard to have an opportunity to talk to that person about the gospel. Is the thing we are going to complain about really important enough to perhaps lose the opportunity to teach the person the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:19-22)? When we complain about how others have treated us, we are focused on self instead of thinking about opportunities to help others and share the gospel with them (Philippians 2:17-18). Complaining is something we need to avoid and we will begin avoiding it when we control our thoughts by thinking on the right type of things (Philippians 4:8; Matthew 12:33-37).
