We have all heard the word Grumble before 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 former boss I worked for called, “people who punch holes in the boat”. So whether this is a work application, or just a life application, grumbling ruins everything over time.
In my own past, being fully transparent, I have done 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 personally more than most of you…because when it comes to grumbling, I have failed before.
I think it is obvious that when the Bible mentions a topic more than once, we should pay attention; and Grumbling is mentioned numerous times. Now, are you surprised 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 tells 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…
Read what James says about this topic:
Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!
Or, Paul tells us that very fact in 1 Corin. 10:10 below:
And don’t grumble as some of them did, and were killed by the destroyer. These things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our instruction 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 everything that is good. Grumbling basically means, “I don’t trust this plan, or this person, and I need to make sure that everyone around me knows”. “And, I really don’t think that God is capable of saving me or my family”.
Guys, 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 not trust or believe that He will work things out.
Yep…Grumbling does all that and MORE.
Guys, today I urge all of you, myself included, to refocus on Christ and His salvation and start by just being thankful…THEN…Be intentional and work to push being a grumbler aside by focusing on your family and then finally, being thankful for what you have.
Yes, the pattern for removing grumbling is just 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, trust me you do have something) you won’t feel the need to grumble anymore.
Guys, if you are like me, the world around us sucks and it continues to suck. 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 reference I made earlier, here are some scriptures for you to review:
Exodus 12:23
Hebrews 11:28
2 Kings 19:32-35
