Gripe! Gripe! Gripe!

Illus: A woman went to a dentist to have a tooth extracted.

• She asked the dentist how much will it cost?

• He said it will cost seventy five dollars.

• She began to grumble about the fee.

• “Seventy five dollars for pulling out a tooth!, ” she exclaimed. “And it’s only a minute’s work. ”

• The dentist said, “Well, if you wish I can drag it out slowly if that will make you happy.

• The scriptures has a lot to say about complaining.

Why? Because people complain about everything.

• It is to COLD or to HOT,

• No RAIN, to much RAIN.

For example, the Bible tells us in Philippians 2:14 “Do all things without murmurings and disputings:”

My translation of that verse is “QUIT YOUR BELLYACHING!!!

The Greek word translated “complainer” means literally “one who is discontented with his lot in life.”

Complaining has:

• Destroyed Churches

• Destroyed friendships

• Destroyed marriages

• Destroyed communities

• Destroyed jobs

Illus: A monk joined a monastery and took a vow of silence.

• After the first 10 years his superior called him in and asked, “Do you have anything to say?”

• The monk replied, “Food bad.”

• After another 10 years the monk again had opportunity to voice his thoughts.

• He said, “Bed hard.”

• Another 10 years went by and again he was called in before his superior. When asked if he had anything to say, he responded, “I quit.”

• His superior said, “It doesn’t surprise me a bit. You’ve done nothing but complain ever since you got here.”

Today we hear all kinds of complaints. You do not have to go very far before you hear someone complaining.

Illus: A customer was badgering the waiter in a restaurant.

• First, he asked that the air conditioning be turned up because he was too hot.

• Then he asked it be turned down cause he was too cold, and so on for about half an hour.

• Surprisingly, the waiter was very patient, he walked back and forth and never once got angry.

• So finally, a second customer asked him why he didn’t throw out the pest."

• Oh, I really don’t care or mind," said the waiter with a smile. "We don’t even have an air conditioner."

Illus: One man said, for the past 20 years my wife has been complaining about me not putting the cap back on the toothpaste.

• Last anniversary, I decided to change this bad habit and make my wife happy.

• For a week, I was diligent, always capping the toothpaste. I was expecting my wife to thank me, but she never did it.

• Finally last night, she turned and looked at me and said - "Why have you stopped brushing your teeth?"

Illus: If I had in my hands a large box of badges, and distributed them among you, then I asked you if you would take this badge that has the one word “complainer” written on it, and pin it on someone, who in this congregation would you pin it on?

Some of you would be covered with those badges from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet.

Why? Because some of you are known for your murmuring. Regardless how God bleses they can only find something to complain about.

There would be others in this congregation who would not have one single badge pinned on them.

Why?

Because they have built a reputation that they love the Lord, and they are always thankful unto the Lord for His many blessings.

Illus: Kathleen Parker, in the Orlando Sentinel said, “It is so much easier to fix blame than to fix problems.” - The Speaker's Digest (Oct./Nov./Dec. 1992). Christianity Today, Vol. 37, no. 6.

Unless we are willing to be a participant in solving the problem, we should not open our mouths.

Illus: These remind me of people who are always complaining about this country. But the fact is, they do not care enough about this country to go to the polls and put someone in office who can solve the problems this country has. They just love to murmur, and politics is something they always murmur about.

Never complain about anything unless you are willing to do something about it yourself.

Illus: This reminds me of the cowboys who were driving cattle across the country and everyone complained about the food. Finally, one day the cook got enough of it, and went to the foreman and was threatening to quit because of all the complaints he was receiving. The foreman talked him into not quitting, and told all the men that the next time he heard someone complain about the food, they would be the next cook.