"All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast." Proverbs 15:15
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Sheesh. What a complainer! Years later, it's embarrassing and, (I confess), ever so tempting to click Delete. You know, just leave the Good Little Debra posts.
But no. That wouldn't be honest.
And I think that's what trips people up when a preacher or author says, "For heaven's sake, stop complaining! It's bad."
Die-hard complainers feel it wouldn't be honest to just bury the complaints inside their gut.
And they have a point(!) At first, negative thoughts are practically a piece of a complainer's skeleton because, wow! The life-sucking stuff which slithered from behind doors their reckless complaining opened. Shiver.
It's rather like this:
"But they soon forgot what God had done and did not wait for his plan to unfold ... And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul." --- Psalm 106:13, 15
Our farm had, like, 4 acres' worth of complain-able stuff and circumstances (unemployment, annoying neighbors, etc.). And though knowing better, I chose to complain anyway and oh dear. I opened scary doors and discovered a nasty case of soul-leanness.
Don't let that happen to you, ok?
Substitute gratitude for complaining.
Give people a break. Pray for them. Point out what they're doing right.
Use Facebook to lift people up, not to remind them of ugly things.
Expect good to happen, not bad.
Expect to see God everywhere you go.
'To whom much is given, much more will be required' and oh, what we've been given! Plenty to keep our cups overflowing for a very long time. And enough responsibility to keep us humble. And busy.
And for the praisers and peace-seekers there is a place where, even now, God waits in the cool of golden evenings. And oh, the tranquility of the walks with Him there in perfect non-complaining harmony.
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"And the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, and when the Lord heard it, his anger was kindled..." ... Numbers 11:1
Who knows? Our complaining just may be the invisible brick wall we keep running into, stopping us from advancing, growing, singing songs in the night.
"Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged." ... James 5:9
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Need a few more Bible verses about the dreadfulness of complaining? Go here.
“Complaining does not work as a strategy. We all have finite time and energy. Any time we spend whining is unlikely to help us achieve our goals. And it won't make us happier.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
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I think you've been reading my mail! :-) Timely post IMHO!
ReplyDeleteDon't know why complaining seems to be my default mode, but I'm doing better, with God's help. Guess after six (plus) decades of living, I'm starting to realize complaining doesn't work. Slow learner. As for being the caretaker of more acres than I anyone should want or need, I cut back, every year. Lots of flower beds have been reseeded to grass so hubby can just hop on his riding mower and cut grass. I still have a modest sized garden, but raised beds are on my wish list. As long as we can still putter around, life is very, very good.
ReplyDeleteLiving on Less--that's my favorite word to see in my comments section--timely! Thank-you for letting me know this came at the right time.
ReplyDeletePam--liked that--'default mode'! :) I think we're both finding it's possible to change our ways of reacting to things. Great news, right? My best days, I'm discovering, are the ones where I only concentrate upon what's going *right*. And there's always so much of that!
Thanks, Ladies! Blessings, Debra