Taboo Topics: Complaining

Introduction

Complaining Is Dangerous

It Is Condescending

What does my complaining say about God?

In Numbers we see that the people of Israel have just witnessed a miraculous miracle as God delivers them from the mightiest army in the world and no more than a month goes by and we find their hearts full of complaints and as you read through numbers you’ll see them whining about the water tasting bad, then they complain about food, and then in Numbers 11 they complain because they’re tired of the food that they have that is literally manna from heaven that God miraculously provided for them 6 days a week!

See, God continually provided for them, but they suffered from what one writer calls, “Spiritual amnesia”.

Have you ever dealt with spiritual amnesia?

He said, “This Spiritual amnesia- forgetting God’s deliverance and provision- is a deadly disease…This was faithlessness. It is the heart saying, ‘I know better than God. If only He would follow my plan.”

Steven Lee said, “Grumbling, whining and thanklessness are not ultimately the hearts response to our circumstances, but to God.”

We could put it this way, “Whenever I complain it is as though I am saying that God either one, isn’t good to me, or two, isn’t powerful enough to keep me from what I’m going through.”

In Numbers 11:18-20

Numbers 11:18–20 NKJV

18 Then you shall say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept in the hearing of the Lord, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? For it was well with us in Egypt.” Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. 19 You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, 20 but for a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have despised the Lord who is among you, and have wept before Him, saying, “Why did we ever come up out of Egypt?” ’ ”

Earlier in the story as the people prepared to leave Sinai, Moses told Hobab that God had promised good things to Israel and that their true source of goodness was God. But what we see here is that they are now attributing goodness not to God, but to the life of slavery and oppression they once had in Egypt!

In Exodus 16 we see them complaining as well and Moses says, “Your complaints are not against us, but against the Lord!”

Have you ever found yourself with an attitude like this in your Christian life? (reflecting on your life before Christ?)

It Is Contagious

In Numbers 11:4 we read

Numbers 11:4 NKJV

4 Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: “Who will give us meat to eat?

When God allowed Israel to escape Egypt, there were some others who also came with them. And in this text it seems as though there were a group of them who began with this sinful spirit and soon enough it spread rapidly throughout the people of Israel.

They had become so full of criticism and complaint that they were actually saying they missed the life they had as slaves.

It is worth noting here that we should be careful who we hang around as they may prove to be harmful to our attitudes. And this is one serious issue as it is cancerous.

It Is Cancerous

In Numbers 11:21-23 we read

Numbers 11:21–23 NKJV

21 And Moses said, “The people whom I am among are six hundred thousand men on foot; yet You have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat for a whole month.’ 22 Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to provide enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to provide enough for them?” 23 And the Lord said to Moses, “Has the Lord’s arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether what I say will happen to you or not.”

Here the Lord has heard the complaints of Israel and later on He sends so much quail that is blesses the faithful and actually kills the rebellious, but here I want us to notice what Moses says in verse 22 as he says, “Shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them to provide enough for them?”

Moses is highlighting the fact that these people have such a sour attitude that there is nothing that will ever satisfy them and this is what we find all throughout Numbers. They have a heart full of complaint that is never satisfied and always finds fault with something going on around them.

And what we see is that the Lord hates such behavior even in the beginning of the chapter we read, Numbers 11:1-3

Numbers 11:1–3 NKJV

1 Now when the people complained, it displeased the Lord; for the Lord heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the fire of the Lord burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp. 2 Then the people cried out to Moses, and when Moses prayed to the Lord, the fire was quenched. 3 So he called the name of the place Taberah, because the fire of the Lord had burned among them.

Complaining Detracts From Our Purpose

Philippians 2:14–16 NKJV

14 Do all things without complaining and disputing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.

Here in this passage we are called to be a community of people that are noticeably different from the world around us and that, in this context, is that we are not defined by complaining. When the speech of Christians is marked by complaining, we have lost our distinct qualities as light in a world marked by negativity and darkness. (Piper’s take on the phrase, “Disputing” or reasoning as justification)

Paul says that we become who we already are in Christ when we become a blameless, harmless and faultless people in the way we speak and behave. Paul isn’t saying this is how we become children of God, but that this is how we behave like what we already are. What does this look like? One writer said,

“To be a blameless Christian community means that no one can find the faults of gripping and bickering in the words or tone of conversation in the community. To be a pure Christian community means that Christians do not mix their good words with negative complaints or specious arguments. Their speech is like good undiluted wine. When children of God are without fault, their conversations will not be marked by the blemishes of bitter criticisms or angry quarrels”

And such behavior marks us as lights shining in the midst of a dark world. But how do we do that? How do we effectively shine? How do we combat the temptation to be complainers? Is it even possible to deal with this issue? Luckily,

Complaining Can Be Defeated

Being Fixated on The Gospel

First, let’s notice what Paul says here in Philippians as he calls us to hold fast to the world of life.

Instead of being focused on our circumstances, Paul is calling us to be focused on the word of life which is that glorious gospel that he has been speaking of throughout the book of Philippians.

Complaining about our circumstances snuffs out our light, but when we focus on the gospel of Jesus Christ, we can’t help but to radiate it’s joy.

Being Reminded of God’s Faithfulness

Back in Exodus 16, the people of Israel were complaining again because they were hungry and God provides them manna 6 days a week and as God provides for them He tells Moses to fill a jar with manna that it would be preserved so that the future generations could be reminded of God’s faithfulness to provide for them

Whenever you’re tempted to complain take a moment to reflect on God’s faithfulness throughout your life.