The Right To Complain
Scripture: Philippians 1:6; 12-14; 2:14-16; 4:4; 6-8; 11-13; 19
Introduction
This Thursday we will celebrate the holiday Thanksgiving. This holiday is the first of two holidays where people take time out to give thanks and to be thankful. But this season also opens the door to something else, the opportunity to complain, which is something we do all year long but tend to increase during this season. This week there will be many complaints, such as the turkey is too dry; the potatoes too lumpy; the crowds too large at the mall, etc. Forget about the fact that we have food to eat, a home to live in and money to spend. When Christmas finally arrives, the complaints will continue when individuals do not receive that special gift that they have been wanting. The need to complain infiltrates every area of our lives and some of us do it with much more finesse than others. In thinking of this message I took inventory of how much I complain and I fall right in there with the best of them, a revelation that shames me. This morning I want to address a "thought pattern" around why we feel it is our God-given right to complain about anything that we do not like, disagree with or which makes us uncomfortable.
There are many of us who believe that since we are Christians and have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ that all is supposed to be well, that we have no struggles; financially, emotionally or spiritually. I have shared with you before how some will tell you that unless you are financially wealthy or "well off" that you are not living in the blessings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The idea that being a Christian guarantees that you will have a happy and carefree life is a lie from the depths of hell. But, because we believe this lie we easily complain about anything that is not according to our liking. Our constant complaining shuts down our ability to fully focus on the goodness of God and the blessings that are evident in our lives. Do you realize that if Satan can get us to believe that we are only being blessed of God when we have money in our pockets and things are going well then he can also get us to believe that God has turned His back on us when these things are not happening.
This morning I want to share with you why I am choosing to change. I want you to know this morning that this message is personal to me; this is a message to Rodney. I am not talking to or about any of you, I am talking to me. I am allowing you to listen in on a private process for why I recognized a change was needed within me as I continue me personal journey with Christ. To help you understand my quest, I want to tell you about a situation the Apostle Paul found himself in before he was executed. It was gaining an understanding of Paul’s situation that made me rethink how I see my daily circumstances. I, as well as each of you, am truly, abundantly blessed!
I. Roman Prison (Teulian (Tullianum) Keep)
You know, although we read Scripture, it is knowing the circumstances from which they were written that really open our eyes to what the Spirit of God was sharing. In thinking about Paul’s situation, I recently learned to a great extent how bad his last days were, according to our standards. Paul spent his final days in a Roman prison, but to understand what this means, let me explain some things about this particular prison. Romans did not have prisons that correlate with the prisons that we have today. Wealthy citizens who were accused of a crime were kept under house arrest until a trial could take place. The poor generally found that their justice was swift and usually fatal. Actual prisons in Rome served as a holding place for those condemned to die so literally everyone in a Roman prison was on death row. Occasionally the accused might be detained to await trial, but usually those awaiting trial were encouraged to go into voluntary exile.
The most famous Roman prison (where Paul was confined) can still be visited today. It has been called by several names, one of which is the "Teulian Keep." It is located just outside the Forum Romanum buried at the foot of the Capitoline Hill. It was Ancus Marcius, the fourth king of Rome, who, sometime during his reign (640-616 BC) constructed this dark, damp and foreboding subterranean structure. One enters the prison today by following steps down from the Capitoline. Looking ahead one sees, on a sunny day, the remains of the glistening white marble of the Forum. By contrast, a turn to the left and down a few more stairs finds the visitor at the entrance to the prison. It is a small room, with a hole in the floor. This was the entrance to the dungeon, constructed by the orders of the 6th king of Rome, Servius Tullius. This dungeon has been described as about twelve feet deep into the ground. Its appearance is disgusting and vile by reason of the filth, the darkness and the stench. It was into this room, 6 1/2 ft. high, thirty feet long and twenty-two feet wide, that prisoners who had been condemned to die either by strangulation or starvation were thrown. Paul had the privilege of spending his last days in this prison.
While in prison, Paul was shackled to a column with his hands above his head in total darkness. Because the “Tuelian Keep” was a part of the sewage system of Rome, Paul was shackled up to his waist in human waste. When he said that he “had suffered the loss of all things and count them but dung,” he was possibly referring to the human waste he was shackled in and had been in for several months. Because Paul was a Roman citizen, he had the right to receive and answer mail. By law they had to bring him a candle and unshackle his hands in order for him answer his mail. It was under this condition that Paul received the courier from the Philippian church and responded by writing what you and I have come to know as the book of Philippians. Before I go any further, please visualize with me how you would feel if you were standing in human waste days on end, waiting to die. Follow me now as I take you on my personal journey. I will share with you a few words from a man in prison, standing in human waste, the most vile of filth, waiting to die, yet speaking faith. I will share these words and my reaction to my life based on what he experienced.
II. Paul Words To The Philippians
Let’s start with Philippians 1:6. (All Scripture will come from the New American Standard Translation Bible.)
"For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." (Phil. 1:6) I have read this verse many times as I’ve lain in my soft bed or relaxed in my easy chair. Paul was confident that although he was in prison, God would complete the work that He started in him and in them. He was standing in filth, shackled, and yet he was speaking of God fulfilling His word. His relationship with Christ out weighed everything else in life and he understood God could not fail. Let’s move on.
"Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear." (Phil. 1:12-14) Paul encourages the Philippians with the words that his imprisonment has led to the furtherance of the gospel. He found joy in the fact that since he had been imprisoned, others found their voice and courage to speak forth God’s words. Also, others had found Christ, including some of those charged with guarding him. How could he lead others to Christ while hanging by his wrists in human waste? He gave God the praise. He did not let his circumstances stop him. If he was in the prison crying and cursing and blaming others for his misfortune, he would not have had this impact on others. I have missed many opportunities to allow Christ’s love to flow out of me to benefit someone else. It is hard to allow Christ’s love to flow through you when you are angry and having a pity party complete with all of the complaints. As I meditated on the following verses, I almost cried when I thought of myself.
"Do all things without grumbling or disputing so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain." (Phil. 2:14-16) As Paul hung in human waste waiting on his execution date, he told the Philippians to do all things without grumbling in order to prove ourselves children of God above reproach. Why is this important? Because we live in a perverse generation that needs Christ. Christ is seen through us in how we respond to our daily situations and to each other. I have missed the boat so many times that I cannot count them. I have done a lot of things while grumbling; at work, at home, at Church, everywhere. Sometimes I grumbled just for the heck of it, because it felt good. Sometimes I wanted to make a point, that I was being inconvenienced and whatever it was would require me making a sacrifice. However, I was not in prison and I was not waiting to die. I had my health, my home, and my family. Why did I need to complain about doing anything?
It is within my nature to complain and that requires a lot of effort to change. I never thought about the message I am sending to others about Christ while I am in my complaining mode. I never thought about how my complaining shuts downs my ability to allow the love of Christ to flow through me. It likes this, I walk up to someone and I have a bad attitude complaining about everything and then I stop and offer them some of Christ’s love. That does not make sense, yet that is how I’ve operated. We do not get a lot of time here on earth to get it right so we must use the time that we have. Anytime we spend complaining is another opportunity lost to be thankful. Turn to chapter four verse four.
"Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say, rejoice!" (Phil. 4:4) We sing this song during our praise service. I hope moving forward when you hear this song you will remember that Paul wrote these words from a dungeon filled with human waste. I, Rodney in the flesh, could not understand how Paul could write these words in his situation. How could he rejoice in his situation? I have been around broken sewage lines and I can tell you that no one was rejoicing and those situations were temporary, lasting a couple of days at most. Paul’s situation lasted for the rest of his life. I have come to realize that I always have a reason to rejoice. There are times when I may have to look harder for that reason than others, but the fact that I have another day to do His will is a reason to rejoice. I have often sung the song "Just Another’s Day’s Journey and I Am Glad" yet there have been times when I forgot its meaning. I have a reason to rejoice. When I wake up in the morning – I can rejoice. When I begin to move – I can rejoice. Whatever I do, wherever I am, I can rejoice. Look down at verses six through eight.
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there be any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things." (Phil. 4:6-8) As I read these verses in the past I took them as one would from someone who had been there and had come through. I was mistaken. Paul wrote these words as he was going through. He said that I should not be anxious for anything, but by prayer and reaching out to God with thanksgiving I should make my request known. Then he speaks of the peace that God gives that our minds cannot comprehend. As he hung there in prison, in the stench from the human waste, he was at peace. His being at peace was the living testimony that led the guards to Christ. I realize that I cannot be at peace and complain at the same time. The fact that I was complaining told the world that I was not at peace. As Paul hung in that prison, he told us those things that he thought about, the same things he spoke about in his letter. He said to think on things that were true, honorable, right, pure, lovely and anything worthy of praise. These are the things Paul thought about as he hung in prison.
"Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am….I can do all things through him who strengthens me." (Phil. 4:11, 13) In these verses Paul expresses that he has learned to be content in whatever circumstances he found himself. He finishes by saying that he could do all things through Christ who strengthened him. I always related these verses to his acts in the ministry and the suffering he may have went through. When Paul wrote these words he spoke of being content while hanging in human waste waiting to die. But he also said that he could handle anything through Christ who strengthened him. He could handle being in that jail, hanging in human waste and smelling the stench day in and day out because Christ strengthened him. I have no clue as to what this is like and my circumstances do not compare, but I know this strength is available to me.
"And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." (Phil. 4:19) Finally Paul tells them that God will provide all of their needs according to His riches in glory. He was encouraging them. In his situation, in all of the filth that he lived in while in prison, he could still find the words to encouraged those who were not in prison; those who could sleep in their own beds at night; those who could eat and sleep without smelling raw sewage. In order for him to accomplish this, he had to have that peace that I did not understand. God will supply all of our needs. What we may think we need may not be what we need. I would have thought Paul needed out of that prison, but he was also needed in that prison because through his stay there, lives were saved. In my worst situations, I can still give God praise because unlike anyone else, God truly has my back.
Conclusion
I started this message by telling you about those who believed that being a Christian means that you should not have to go through difficult times. However, the fact that we are Christians almost guarantees that we will have some difficult times. I found it extremely easy to complain during my difficult times. I found it very easy to complain even when I was not going through difficult times. I stand before you today to tell you a change is coming. I choose to see God’s glory and blessing in my life. I choose to walk in peace and not turmoil. I choose not to allow others to dictate my responses. I choose to be thankful. I cannot truly be thankful while complaining about something that means little to my eternal life. Likewise, I cannot truly walk in that special peace that God has promised me while I am complaining. The root of my complaints lies within my desire to have what I want, when I want it and how I want it. God NEVER promised me that so I must line up with His word. Will you join me? Have a very blessed Thanksgiving holiday.
