Complaining

Last week our Bible study lesson was on complaining.  Wow, did we have a lot to discuss! It's a great study by James MacDonald called "Lord, Change My Attitude Before It's Too Late."  So, do any of you complain?  Really?  That's fantastic!! 😇  I kinda figured it was just me;)  Okay, seriously, maybe there are a couple of you who are curious about what the Bible says regarding complaining, so this is for you . . .

Complaining is sin [missing the mark, failing in regard to God's holy standard and just demands] and God hates it. Tough stuff.  Stick with me. He defines complaining as: "Expressing dissatisfaction with a circumstance that isn't wrong and I'm doing nothing to correct it."    

If we ask ourselves, I'm pretty sure we all know in our hearts when we have crossed the line into full on complaining.  Pastor MacDonald talks about the exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt and their time in the wilderness.  Did you know that they could have gotten to the promised land in 11 days, but they spent 40 years trying to get there!  They were grumbling about everything!  

So, let's put it into context.  God uses Moses to lead His people out of captivity.  They were slaves to the Egyptians.  They were the workforce.  (I'm imagining building a pyramid in the hot desert sun 🌞 with no heavy equipment, or sun screen, and a big dude hovering over me with a whip.) Sounds unpleasant, right?  Wouldn't you be ready for a rescue?  So, skipping ahead and leaving out the persuasion of Pharaoh (i.e. plagues and deaths),  God says "It's time to go Moses!"  So they load up and the Egyptians send them off with provisions and gold (a little added bonus that they totally messed up. . .golden calf story, very bad idea!!), and God parts the Red Sea and they walk through it on dry ground!  Now, at this point, Pharaoh has come to his senses and sees his entire work force escaping, and a chase ensues, and unfortunately for Pharaoh and his chariots, the Red Sea went back to being a sea.  (Were they seriously thinking He was going to keep a hold on that miracle until the chariots got across to capture back His chosen ones?)  Okay, confession, I'm going to give you a tiny portal peek into my brain, I'm visualizing  "You shall not pass!!." . . .Gandolf . . .anyone??)  Anyway, now they are free and out in the desert wilderness with the HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL in their midst!    The Alpha and Omega is literally in the camp!!   He is in a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, providing all their needs, chatting up Moses, and still, they start whining.  And let's face it, no one likes a whiner.

Why are they whining and complaining?  Well, they are thirsty, so he gives them water. Twice with the water in totally miraculous ways - like it came pouring out of a rock! Have you ever seen that?  No, me either.  They are hungry, so he sends manna from Heaven.  But the delicious bread of angels isn't good enough, they want meat.  So, this is funny. 😂 Yes, God has a sense of humor.  He sends so many quail (think Hitchcock's "The Birds", too young? Sorry, don't watch it), that they are 3 feet deep!  And still, the complaining. These folks wandered the desert for 40 years, and their clothes and shoes never wore out!  Granted, you'd get sick of the same outfit day after day, but, these are miracles of epic proportion!  (They should make a movie out of this stuff!😏) They even complained about certain foods they used to eat in Egypt, which was totally bogus!  Slaves didn't get that kind of fare . . .but when we whine, we like to go big!!

So the moral of the story . . . an 11 day trip to a land of milk of honey took 40 years because of a "wilderness attitude".  (Complaining)  So, if that doesn't teach us to adopt an attitude of gratitude, what will?  Pastor MacDonald says that complaining separates us from God, and in the long term it becomes a lifestyle that sends us to the wilderness.  I'm not sure about you, but I'm not getting the feels for the wilderness.  I don't even like camping, no not glamp-ing either!  When the bugs come out, I go home!  Yes, I probably would have been one of the rabble rousers at the edge of the camp whining about my shoes not matching my robe or some ridiculous thing!  

God gave us His Word, with these stories, so we can learn from the mistakes and the successes of others.  There were Israelites that trusted God, believed God,  and looked at the glass as half full.  I want to be like those guys!   My husband loves the saying "a lesson is repeated until learned!"  I don't know about you, but certain lessons have been harder for me to learn than others, and I'd like to get off that merry-go-round! So, help me change my attitude Lord, before I end up with quail coming out my nostrils! (True story)  Numbers 11:20👈

Let's start looking for things to be thankful for, for things that are good, be kind, throw around some compliments instead of complaints, start a gratitude journal or a thankfulness jar!  Express to the Heavenly Father what you appreciate about Him and what He has done for you!  Tell Him what you are thankful for.

How do you keep a good attitude?  Feel free to comment!  We all love a great idea!  

God Bless!