SUPREMACY CLAUSE
A number of weeks ago, I jokingly said that everyone in my family had a license for something in life. The one license my folks said was solely mine was the complaining license. Dad would say: “Stop your fussing,” and if I didn’t, he’d pick on me and saying: “I don’t like this, and I don’t like that; I don’t like this, and I don’t like that.”
I don’t know why from a very young age, I had an early onset of grumbler’s syndrome -- but I did. Thankfully, I’ve outgrown most of that. However, I don’t know if I would had it not been for the grace of God. Even so, I grumble from time to time -- and I think that’s normal. But to live that way -- as in a permanent state of being -- is all together something different.
Have you ever noticed some folks are miserable -- all the time? It’s kinda like, no matter how nice you are to them, or despite how great life can be, they just find something to grumble about -- it’s like their baseline mood is one of permanent unhappiness? I think it’s safe to say we all know people like this. Some of them live nearby, run businesses, or work beside us… or, maybe they’re related. And unfortunately, there’s lots of people within the church who hold grumblers licenses.
So, let me ask you a question. Do you think chronic complainers are just miserable because that’s the way were born? Or, is there maybe something more going on -- say, something spiritually off-center? I believe the ways in which we view and live life: whether from a state of grumbling, or from a state of joy, begins with the heart.