Key Bible Verse: These people are grumblers and complainers, doing whatever evil they feel like. (Jude 16). Bonus Reading: Exodus 14:11-12; 15:22-24; 16:1-3; 17:1-3

Over the years the rooms of the Rainey household have resounded with gripes about many things, from the food for lunch tasting unappetizing to who has to clean up the dishes. It became so bad one year that we all memorized Philippians 2:14: "In everything you do, stay away from complaining and arguing." That helped.

If you have a problem with grumbling, you're not alone. Griping and complaining are vocal amplifiers of one's heart attitude. The Old Testament book of Numbers could easily be renamed the Grumbler Chronicles. The children of Israel grumbled against Moses, Aaron, and God. They complained: "Manna for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! Is this all we get?" So God gave them quail instead. They had quail boiled and broiled until they were sick of it.

A little complaining is understandable, isn't it? But the complaining by the children of Israel wasn't a trivial matter, and God didn't view it lightly. He had delivered them from Egypt and was providing for them daily. They were just plain ungrateful. Like sulfuric acid, complaining can eat away at whatever it splashes on. Complaining corrodes joy and dissolves good attitudes.

—Dennis Rainey in Moments Together for Living What You Believe

My Response: Have I minimized the corrosive effect of complaint? How could I correct that?

Adapted from Moments Together for Living What You Believe (Regal, 2004) by permission.

Prayer for the Week

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

				Try an Issue of Men of Integrity Free! Name Street Address City/State/Zip E-mail Address No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. Click here for International orders. If you decide you want to keep Men of Integrity coming, honor your invoice for just $19.95 and receive five more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The trial issue is yours to keep, regardless. Give Men of Integrity as a gift Buy 1 gift subscription, get 1 FREE!

FREE Newsletter Sign up for the Men of Integrity Newsletter    RSS Feed   RSS Help