I read this quote recently: "…what is the intrinsic effect of sin and wandering? We turn in on ourselves and away from God. Even the ‘little sins’, like complaining, expunge the Lord from his universe. Sin curves in on itself." (Speaking Truth in Love, David Powlison)
This made me pause, which is not surpising for just that morning I had read from Exodus 15 a little story about the Israelites. They had just miraculously been led through the Red Sea on dry ground and seen their enemies be swept into the sea. Three days later they find themselves in the desert without any water. They find some water but can’t drink it because it’s bitter. So what do they do? Grumble.
At first the usual thoughts and feelings surfaced within me: ungrateful Israelites, didn’t they remember what God had just done? But with His gentle finger God pointed to my own heart. When I am in a place of need with seeming nowhere to turn I have an ungrateful and unbelieving heart too. I breathe a sigh of relief when God comes through for me but quickly forget what He has done in the anxiety of the next season of need and even doubt if He will do as He promised. (Philippians 4:19)
As David Powlison said, a complaining spirit turns us away from God and focusses us on ourselves. A friend of mine once said that the not being thankful is the first step away from God. When I complain I am seeing the ‘mountain’ of my need or discomfort and am blinded from God’s ability and power, not to mention His immeasurable greatness worthy of worship. Complaining is another form of worshipping myself. I complain because I think I deserve better or that I deserve to be comfortable.
To be honest, I don’t think of myself as a complainer but I also know that I am not a grateful person and according to James it’s just as bad. I want to be a grateful person. Thankful people’s faces shine and they are enjoyable to be with, to give to. Thankful people are humble people. Thankful people are especially those who have encountered God’s grace in a way that has left them changed forever and as a result they treat others with similar grace. They are people who are not easily put out. People like one gentleman who, whenever asked how he was doing, would respond, "Better than I deserve." I want this. I want to be like this.
So simple. So difficult.
"Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:18