Why Complain

Numbers 11:1-15 (KJV)

1 And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD: and the LORD heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the LORD burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp. 2 And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto the LORD, the fire was quenched. 3 And he called the name of the place Taberah: because the fire of the LORD burnt among them.

4 And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? 5 We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: 6 But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes. 7 And the manna was as coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the colour of bdellium. 8 And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil. 9 And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it. 10 Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent: and the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly; Moses also was displeased. 11 And Moses said unto the LORD, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me? 12 Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou swarest unto their fathers? 13 Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat. 14 I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. 15 And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.

How many times or things do we find ourselves complaining about things? We have to work longer hours. Our plans go astray. We get what we want and it is either not enough or what we thought. It’s raining. It’s sunny. The bird has just bombed the car. There is not enough/too much snow. Our favorite TV show is not on. There is nothing to do, nowhere to go. And it goes on and on. It seems we are hardwired this way.

In the garden of Eden, Satan caused man to complain because of the one tree they were not able to eat from. But God had given Adam and Eve the whole garden to eat from. They became dissatisfied and disobeyed God. Then Adam complained that it was partially God’s fault because of the woman.

The people of Isreal had been in Egypt for 400 years. They were complaining about the conditions they were under. God heard them and raised up someone to free them. Moses’ complaint was that he was not a good speaker and that his people would not listen to him. But God got him through this. And the people were freed.

On their journey the people complained over and over about the conditions they were in. The apparent lack of food and water. The way they were going. The walk. The leadership God had placed over them. It got so bad that even Moses complained about all the people and that he was only one man. That he was not able to do it all himself.

Even when things weren’t that bad the people complained. They got food, but now they want something different. They had someone to follow and they want someone different. They were dissatisfied with everything.

We are not all that different. We have a job, but we want another one that pays more. We have clothes, but we want more. We want more of this or wanting something different. We are never satisfied with what we have. We never learn to be content. So we complain about our current circumstance. Or what we are going to face tomorrow. Or what we faced yesterday.

The thing is we cannot change things that happened yesterday. It is too late. Once a day has passed, that’s it. No going back.

We can’t do anything about tomorrow. The day hasn’t happened yet. James 4:14 says that “whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow”. We have no idea what tomorrow holds. We need to worry about the affairs of today. Because we can only affect the days outcome. The only worries we need to be concerned about are what is ahead for the day.