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Key Bible Verse: Stay away from complaining … so that no one can speak a word of blame against you Philippians 2:14-15).Bonus Reading: Numbers 14:26-37

Every church has members who are always complaining about something. On any given Sunday, one will complain that the church is too hot and another that it's too cold. One will complain about always singing "the same old hymns" and another about unfamiliar hymns.

Hearing complaints disheartens ministers, making them less effective. Lay leaders become discouraged when the same ones who always have an excuse for not helping sit back and criticize those who do. New Christians—who expect to be uplifted—grow disillusioned when they instead encounter a thistle patch of griping.

And nothing is quite so devastating to marital happiness as an endless recitation of a spouse's unfinished projects, personal flaws, and poor eating habits and grooming. A similar negativity can pervade the parent/child relationship. One teen said, "I can do a hundred things right, but all I ever hear about are the few things I do wrong."

An appreciative tongue could have saved the Israelites in the wilderness and can save many a faltering relationship. When you give children and fellow church members an example worthy to be followed, your life will "shine brightly before them" (Philippians 2:15).

—LeRoy Koopman in Beauty Care for the Tongue

My Response: I'll commit to saying something constructive before voicing a complaint.

Thought to Apply: Some people seem to go through life standing at the complaint counter.—Fred Propp Jr.

Adapted from Beauty Care for the Tongue (Kregel, 1972, 1974, 2000) by permission.

Copyright © 2008 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.

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Prayer for the Week

Teach me, Lord, to avoid complaining, since You are offended by the lack of trust it reveals.

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