We have all heard the word and maybe you even have first-hand experience working or living with a grumbler.
Websters defines Grumbling as:
to complain or protest about something in a bad-tempered but typically muted way.
For us men; Grumbling is specifically mentioned in the Bible as something Christians need to work hard to avoid. Grumbling is dangerous because it creates unrest. Grumblers are what a boss I used to work for called, “people who punch holes in the boat”. Whether this is a work application or just a life application, grumbling ruins everything over time.
In this past year of crazy COVID, I did a whole lot of grumbling, how about you? What does that say about me? Probably that I write this particular blog because I need to read and apply this one more than most of you…because when it comes to grumbling, I failed this year.
To me, when the Bible mentions a topic over and over, we need to pay attention; and Grumbling is mentioned numerous times. Now, just a few sentences into this blog do you find it hard to believe that the Bible even talks about grumbling? Why would grumbling matter to God? Easy…because as I said in the beginning, grumbling is a dealbreaker or as my wife would tell me, “I don’t really want to be around you when you grumble” Honestly, I don’t want to be around myself when I do that either…it is miserable.
When I started looking into this topic, I remembered reading about Moses as someone who had to deal with grumblers as he guided the Children of Israel across the desert. During those 40 years, he was constantly battling the grumblers who actually were not grumbling against Moses, they were grumbling against God…Which is really the point of this blog today.
MY grumbling, the Children of Israel’s grumbling, anybody’s grumbling, is truly AGAINST our God. AND, with a HUGE emphasis on this point…it ALSO makes everyone around you unhappy…
Paul tells us that very fact in 1 Corin. 10:10
And don’t grumble as some of them did, and were killed by the destroyer. 11 These things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our instruction,z on whom the ends of the ages have come.
Destroyer? Wait, what? No one mentioned anything about a Destroyer. But actually, that’s not true because, as we just read, Paul informed us HOW big of a deal grumbling is to God…
Grumbling undermines anything and everything that is good. It basically says, “I don’t trust this plan or this person, and I need to make sure that everyone around me knows. Moreover, I really don’t think that God is capable of saving me or my family. Can you imagine what grumbling does to your children? I can tell you, it fundamentally provides them an example of how to walk away from God and just not trust or believe Him that He will work things out.
Yep…Grumbling does all that and MORE.
Guys, today I urge all of us, and certainly, myself included, to refocus on Christ and His saving salvation and start by just being thankful for that…THEN…Push Grumbling aside completely and look at your family and be thankful for that…
The pattern for removing grumbling is being thankful. You can’t grumble when you’re thankful…it is a scientific impossibility. OK…honestly, not sure about the science part but I do speak the truth. When you truly focus on the things in your life that you are thankful for (and they are there) you won’t feel the need to grumble anymore.
Guys, if you are like me, 2020 sucked and it is still sucking. But for me, even writing this, helps me remember that I have a tremendous amount to be thankful for and even though the future seems scary and I am unsure, we have a God who cares and asks us constantly to reach out to HIM for help.
Guys, I urge you today to take the first step…be thankful for ALL you have and no more grumbling-
Until next time guys-
Postscript: If you are specifically interested in the Destroyer I mentioned earlier, here are some scriptures for you to reference:
Exodus 12:23, Hebrews 11:28, 2 Kings 19:32-35
