Grumbling

Hey Southwest Students! My name is Christian and I get the privilege of closing out our Big Fat Mouth series.

Over the last four weeks, we have looked at all the ways that our mouths can get us into trouble. We saw how gossip shifts our perspective away from the Gospel and tells us that “we are strong because others are weak” instead of what the Gospel says that “we are weak but God is strong”. We saw how our criticism of ourselves and others can leave us hurting but how instead we can bring hope to those that need it. And last week, we looked at lying and what that does to ourselves and the people around us.

All of these actions we can perform with our mouths are a direct result of what is in our hearts.

Jesus says in Luke 6:45 that...

The New International Version Chapter 6

A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

Jesus here is telling us that whatever is in our heart has direct effect on what comes out of our mouth.

This week, we are going tot look at how we use our mouths to grumble and complain and how we all need a perspective change to occur in our hearts to disrupt this cycle.

Before we do that, let’s pray… Amen.

Now turn with me to Philippians 2:14-15. Paul is writing this letter to the church in Philippi (present day Greece) and says these words...

The New International Version Chapter 2

Do everything without grumbling or arguing,

Stop right there. You guys have to understand, that Paul is writing these words from a Roman prison. And he’s not in prison for jaywalking or shoplifting and on his way out. He is in prison with the very real possibility of death. If anyone has reason to complain and grumble, it’s Paul.

A lot of us believe that based on our circumstances, grumbling is just what comes with the territory. Think to yourself, when was the last time I grumbled and complained? If you are anything like me that was earlier today. When we find ourselves in situations that are not to our liking or standard, we complain. When we come home from school with the same worksheets of busy work that we think is not going to help us, we grumble. When my puppy continues to have accidents in the house, oh wait, that’s just me? Anyways, we tend to grumble and complain about anything and everything but Paul here is in prison waiting for his sentence and if anyone has permission to grumble and complain... its Paul. Yet Paul is saying, “do everything without grumbling or arguing.”

Could you say this if you were in Paul’s situation? Can you say that you would do everything without grumbling or arguing as you are sitting in prison? How does Paul do this? He changes his perspective.

Verse 15 says..

The New International Version Chapter 2

so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” u Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky

Paul looks to Christ and the hope that we have in him instead of looking at his present situation. Paul is encouraging us here to see that...

If I can’t change my problem, I’ll Change my Perspective

If you are anything like me, you are saying to yourself right now, “Christian, that is easier said than done!” I hear you! Sometimes you get so deep into a problem or situation that the only way you respond is through complaining and grumbling. We find ourselves in this cycle of seeing our problems and responding with grumbling and complaining as we do that, the problem and situation seem to grow and we respond with more grumbling and complaining.

So how do you change your perspective when you find yourself in a cycle of grumbling? You replace grumbling with gratitude.

To Change your Perspective: Replacing Grumbling with Gratitude

Gratitude can often be thought of as giving thanks. This is something that we often store up in our lives for seasons like this as we celebrate Thanksgiving. However, we need to see gratitude in any season, situation, or problem and not just when the pumpkin pies show up on the dinner table or PSLs are available at Starbucks. I want to give you three ways to see Gratitude in the midst of the Grumblings of everyday life in order to change your perspective.

The first way to see gratitude is to...

See God

When you find yourself in a situation and you find yourself wanting to grumble and complain, see God. How do you do that you ask? Let’s look at Paul. Paul reminds us in verse 15 that we are “children of God”. Paul is pointing to God and the role that he plays in our lives. God is our Father. As our Father, he wants what is best for our lives so that we can have a greater relationship with him. When we see God and who he is in our lives, grumbling is replaced with gratitude when we know he is in full control of the situation.

So, when we are looking to change our prospective and replace grumbling with gratitude, we need to first See God. Secondly, we need to...

See the Gifts

It is easy to grumble and complain when you feel like you have the short end of the stick. When everyone in your class is showing up to your Zoom on their brand new iPhone 12s and you are still have the iPhone 4, it is easy to grumble and complain. But gratitude tells you to see that differently. Gratitude sees the gift that is an iPhone, no matter the model. Did you know this iPhone 4 gives me greater technology at my finger tips than over 50% of the rest of the world?! When you think of this iPhone 4 in that way, you see the gift that this smart phone is in your hands, no matter what someone else has in theirs. How do you see gratitude in the midst of grumbling to change your perspective? You see the gifts that have been given to you.

So to replace grumbling with gratitude we need to see God, see the Gifts, and we need to lastly See His grace.

Grace is when someone overlooks what you have done and decides to do something for you anyways. Instead of grumbling, when we shift our perspective to gratitude by seeing God’s grace to us, we realize that we have been given way more than what we deserve.

I am a huge Marvel fan. My wife and I love going to see them in theaters and I will watch them over and over again. Marvel movies are some of my favorites but one of my favorite relationships in those movies is Peter Parker’s/Spiderman’s relationship with Tony Stark/Ironman. Besides the hilarious conversations that they have, I love to see Peter Parker at 15 years old going through high school trying to figure out how to be a superhero and Ironman kinda sponsors him. As Spiderman is figuring this out, he is constantly making mistakes, doing things that get him into trouble, and grumbling about being to young to be an Avenger. Despite all this, Ironman is continually showing Spiderman grace (in his own way most of the time) and it results with Spiderman constantly responding with gratitude.

When we see the grace that has been given to us in the midst of a grumbling situation, we can change our perspective and respond with gratitude. Romans 5:8 shows us that God has given each of us grace in the midst of our grumbling. It says,

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

While you and I are grumbling and complaining, God showed his love for us by letting Christ die for us so that we can be blameless and pure like stars in the sky as Paul says in Philippians 2:15.

Have you experienced this grace in your own life? If not, you can! And it is as easy as submitting your problems and life to the God that loves you despite our grumbling and complaining.

As you break into your small groups, you are going to dive deeper into what it means to change your perspective and actively replace grumbling with gratitude by seeing God, the Gifts, and His Grace in the midst of your problems. If you want to know more about what this grace looks like in your own life, your leader would love to share more about it with you. Enjoy your small group as you go deeper in how to replace grumbling with gratitude!