Complaining

Complaining is so common these days that it could be called a way of life for many people. Just about everybody complains. And why not? There is so much to complain about: traffic, church, troubles of all kinds! But the commonness of complaining does not make it right. The Word of God comes down pretty hard on the sin of complaining. The Bible teaches us that complaining is wrong for Christians.

In Number 11, we see the complaining of Israelites. We see the tragic consequences that come to Israel because of their complaining. They journeyed thru the wilderness. God had brought His people out from bondage and slavery in Egypt thru Moses. They complained about the little nitty-gritty hardships of living and traveling in the wilderness, and the Lord was not pleased with them, and the fire of the Lord consumed some of them.

Do we also complain about problems of everyday living? We complain about food, weather. I heard Christians complained about the rain saying, "celaka hujan." Yes, all these hardships include the rain, may cause us some inconveniences at times, but we are not to complain about them. The Lord always has good reasons for the hardships He permits to come our way. Read Deut 8 to find some reasons for Israel's hardships in the wilderness.

The sin of complaining was one reason why Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. It took only a few hours to get the people out of Egypt, but it took them 40 years!

Is it possible that we are "wandering in the wilderness" of Christian living because of the sin of complaining? Complaining is of course just the surface symptom of a much deeper problem - DISCONTENT. This is why the Bible so strongly condemns complaining.