Do we have the right to complain?
I. One of the main everyday sins we all commit is addressed in Philippians 2:14 “Do all things without grumbling and complaining.”
A. This is based on the assumption that we deserve more than we are getting; that this bad thing shouldn’t be happening to us because we are Christians, or that that good thing shouldn’t be happening to him because he is a sinner.
B. We are going to look at this as a mindset. How we look at this issue will affect how we respond to it and how we live our lives. We are going to practice some metacognition: thinking about our thinking.
II. Job 10:1-7 “Why do good things happen to bad people? AND Why do bad things happen to good people?”
A. Many bad things happened to good people in the bible.
1. Job knew he did nothing wrong, even though his friends thought he must deserve what he is getting.
2. Acts 7:59 Stephen was stoned for his belief. Why did this happen to a man of God?
3. Matt 14:10-11 “(10) He sent and had John beheaded in the prison. (11) And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.” Another martyr. Why?
III. There is only one good thing that can happen. The others don’t matter.
A. All earthly treasures are worthless, because they can be stolen, lost, etc. Matt 6:19-21 (19) "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. (20)"But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; (21) for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
B. Jer 48:7 "For because of your trust in your own achievements and treasures, Even you yourself will be captured”; Only a fool would trust in things that are guaranteed to not last.
1. Those who count earthly pleasures and treasures as good things can be guaranteed a disappointing existence. It will all burn, wither, stop, end, cease, be stolen, lost, etc. These are false happinesses.
a. What are some common false happinesses?
11. Family: Matt 19:29 “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.”
22. Money: Matt 19:16-22 Rich young ruler wanted eternal life, but was unwilling to separate himself from his false happiness of wealth.
33. Religion: Luke 13:23-30 Some may knock too late. They will claim to have been religious, but he will turn them away.
34. Physical pleasures: 1 John 2:17 “The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”
aa. False happinesses will pass away; the one who resists temptations will get the one treasure that will not pass away, the one good thing: eternal life.
bb. Therefore, since there is only good thing, who is going to get it?
cc. John 3:15-16, 36 “He who believes in the Son of God will have eternal life.”
dd. Matt 25:46 “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." The Righteous inherit eternal life, so that means: Good things (eternal life) only happens to good people (righteous). Good things, therefore, do not happen to bad people.
IV. There is only one bad thing that can happen. The others don’t matter.
A. Job lost his wealth, kids, reputation, servants, lands, livestock, and even his health. But did all that matter? No. They are all temporal things, not eternal.
A. Matt 10:28 “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Losing your body or health is not a bad thing.
B. Matt 24:35 “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall never pass away.” Losing your land is not a bad thing.
C. 2 Peter 3:10 “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.”
D. James 4:14 “Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.”
E. Psalms 144:4 “Man is like a mere breath; His days are like a passing shadow.”
1. Remember that in 1 Peter 2:11 he calls us “Strangers and Aliens,” because we are not of this world, but are just passing through. We are not home yet. Place your trust on eternal things, not temporary things of this world.
2. These temporary things of this world are false happinesses. They cannot last, so they do not matter. Losing them, therefore, makes no difference. We are glad we had them, but since we were foretold that they would not last, we shouldn’t complain when they do not. We believe that God’s word is true, yet when something happens that he said will happen, we complain, are shocked, and ask why God? Why me?
a. 1 Peter 4:12-14 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, … as though some strange thing were happening to you;” He told us that the things of this world would pass and that things would happen to our worldly goods of flesh, money, family, property, reputation, etc. These things are not our soul, though. The fiery ordeals cannot touch that.
1. Just like Job, Satan couldn’t touch him, only his false happinesses.
V. So why do bad things happen to good people? They don’t; it’s as simple as that. Good things (eternal life) happen only to good people (born-again believers); and bad things (eternal punishment) only happen to bad people (sinners).
A. John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."
VI. So, what does that mean to us?
A. Keep the emphasis of your life on the things of God and the ultimate reward you are promised: eternal life in paradise.
1. If you put your time, effort, and heart into the things of this world, then the false satisfaction of those things will be the only good things that you’ll get. You will fall into the category of a bad person having good things happen to him. We now know that doesn’t happen, because they are all hell-bound. Avoid these false happenesses and keep your mind on the things above.
B. Do you complain when “bad things” happen to you? Now you know that bad things don’t happen to you. There is only one bad thing, and that is being sent to hell, and that will not happen to you because you are born again.
1. The circumstances we daily find ourselves in are irrelevant. Keep in mind that whatever you think is a bad thing happening to you is really just a circumstance meant to get your eyes off of the one true happiness, eternal life with God, and instead get your eyes on the worldly worries of this world. This mindset will help you get your priorities right.
2. Isaiah 40:30-31 “(30)Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly, (31) Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.”
