LET US STOP COMPLAINING
Text: Lamentations 3:22-40
22 Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." 25 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; 26 it is good to wait quietly, for the salvation of the LORD. 27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young. 28 Let him sit alone in silence, for the LORD has laid it on him. 29 Let him bury his face in the dust— there may yet be hope. 30 Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him, and let him be filled with disgrace. 31 For men are not cast off by the Lord forever. 32 Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. 33 For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men. 34 To crush underfoot all prisoners in the land, 35 to deny a man his rights before the Most High, 36 to deprive a man of justice would not the Lord see such things? Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it. 38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come? 39 Why should any living man complain when punished for his sins? 40 Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD.
We are all familiar with the word “complain”, it means to express dissatisfaction, pain, regret, discontent, uneasiness, resentment or grief. It means to find fault and accuse someone. It is synonymous to grumbling, whining, murmuring, lamenting, protesting and every other word that can be used to express dissatisfaction or discomfort.
Complain is very good when it is properly channeled. Someone has offended you and you complain to someone that can take care of it, that is perfect. When you complain to God about a situation and pray about it, that is OK. The psalmist complained to God about the wicked ones in Psalms 55 and 142. These are not bad complains, when you poured out your hearts to somebody with the intention of taking care of these problems, it is not bad. Because of what she was going through, Hannah complained and prayed to God and God answered her.
However, our complain is always to accuse, to protest, to find fault, it is about discontent, about why is someone having this while I am not, why is he riding a Navigator while I am just having a Volkswagen Beetle, are we not serving the same God? Is it a sin to serve You? Have you thanked God for the Beetle first? Or where were you God when this was happening to me? At times, when God has helped us and we have moved up or we have been promoted, we get too busy to attend the things of the Lord and when we are asked, we begin to say it was because of the work that God has given to us. Or complaining unnecessarily about our boss or superior or spiritual leader, your spiritual leader may not necessarily be your Pastor, he may be your Head of Department, your Youth Pastor, etc. Somebody that is ahead of you, no matter how small in the church or ministry setting may be your spiritual leader. Why is he always telling us that we come late? Why is he always calling me to join the prayer line or to do one thing or the other? Why? Why? Why? Complain! Complain!! Complain!!!
Whether it is hereditary or learnt I cannot really say, but I know that children as soon as they learn how to talk will start to complain, when you ask a child to go and bring something, he or she starts to complain. I asked my son to take out all the plates that they used to eat in their room to the sink, and he was complaining that, he was not the only one that used the plates. So I told him this time firmly, “I did not ask you who used the plates, take them out to the sink.” The earlier we discipline them and let them know that complaining is not good, the better.
Complains are directed towards ourselves, this is rare, but towards others and we as Christians mostly towards God. The first complainer in the Bible is the first man Adam, and he directed his complain to God, “the woman that you gave to me” so we can see that to complain is natural, however, it is not scriptural and not spiritual.
Effects of Complaining,
The Lord is displeased.
Let us read Numbers 11:1. The first thing we should know is that when we complain The Lord is displeased. You are not going to displease God in Jesus name. Because when the Lord is displeased, his anger is kindled and in the text that we have read, the Bible says that he sent fire from heaven to burn the children of Israel, and consumed those that are uttermost of the camp. The fire of the Lord will not burn us in Jesus name. Nobody apart from God can stop his fire, After Moses prayed to the Lord in this instance, the fire stopped, but the fact is that some were already killed. So when we are complaining with the hope that if there is a problem, we can always run to the Pastor, what of the havoc that would have happened? If you read the book of Numbers chapter 11 further, you will see another instance where the children of Israel complained and God still punished them. There were so many times in the Bible that the people complained about God, and the Lord punished them. That shows that, as long as we are complaining about God, his anger cannot cease. My prayer is that we will stop complaining so that His anger will cease over us in Jesus name. In the book of Jude 14-16, the Bible made it clear that the Lord will come with His saint to execute judgment upon murmurers, complainers, and people that are walking after their own lusts. God will not execute His judgment upon you in Jesus name.
We are rejecting God
When we are complaining, we are saying that the Almighty God is not our Lord. We are saying that He is not capable to be our God, he is not fit to help us, he cannot help our situation. In Psalm 144:11-15, the psalmist requested for the things that would make people happy, in verse 14, he said that these will make complaining to cease, people will be happy, and such people who do not complain has God as their Lord
Our Spirit is weakened.
The third thing we should realized when we complain is that it weakens our spirit, it becomes difficult to move forward. Let us look at Ps. 77:3. The psalmist said that “when I complained, my spirit was overwhelmed”; another version says that “my spirit faints.” Has complaining ever solved any problem apart from aggravating it? Because you are complaining that an examination is tough, has it made is easy? Or has it made you to pass it? In Job 10:1, we discover that complain brings weariness to life. Job said he was weary of his life and he was disgusted with it and so he will complain without any reservation and he will speak in the bitterness of his soul. Complaints will only aggravate bitterness of soul.
Sad Countenance.
Another effect of complaining is that it makes our countenance sad. Have your seen anybody complaining about someone smiling or laughing? It is not possible; a complainant will look sad, angry and at times dejected. In Job 9:27 while Job was complaining and accusing God, he admitted that if only he could forget his complaints, he will be able to put off his sad countenance and he will be of good cheer. Complain will only increase our sadness, it can only make us to feel worse, not better. In Job 23, despite Job’s bitter and rebellious complaints, he said that his suffering was only heavier. Thus, complains apart from what we are going through has additional problems that will be placed upon us as long as we continue to complain.
In conclusion, complaining is a sin and God hates it when we complain, it displeases Him and makes Him to send His wrath on us. Complaining also means that we are rejecting God as our Lord, it weakens our spirits and makes us to be sad and feel dejected. If you have not been complaining, do not start, and if you are the type that is always complaining, the earlier you stop, the better.
RESOURCES
1. Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible, 1999
2. Webster Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, 1987
3. Thanksgiving or Complaining – Jimmy Chapman
