{"id":54426,"date":"1998-01-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"1998-01-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/gift-of-grumbling\/"},"modified":"1998-01-01T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"1998-01-01T00:00:00","slug":"gift-of-grumbling","status":"publish","type":"sermon-illustrations","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/gift-of-grumbling\/","title":{"rendered":"The Gift of Grumbling"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A heavy wagon was being dragged along a country lane by a team of oxen.  The axles groaned and creaked terribly, when the oxen turning around thus addressed the wheels, &#8220;Hey there, why do you make so much noise?  We bear all the labor, and we&#8211;not you&#8211;ought to cry out!&#8221; Those complain first in our churches who have the least to do.  The gift of grumbling is largely dispensed among those who have no other talents, or who keep what they have wrapped up in a napkin.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tax_ctp_audience":[],"tax_ctp_authors":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[165],"tax_ctp_format":[171],"tax_ctp_illustration_types":[411],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[140],"tax_ctp_tags":[3601,3652,4053,4505],"tax_ctp_topics":[378,386],"class_list":["post-54426","sermon-illustrations","type-sermon-illustrations","status-publish","hentry","tax_publications-ct-pastors","tax_ctp_tags-church","tax_ctp_tags-complaining","tax_ctp_tags-gifts","tax_ctp_tags-murmuring"],"acf":{"scripture_references":[{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Gift of Grumbling - CT Pastors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/gift-of-grumbling\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Gift of Grumbling - CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A heavy wagon was being dragged along a country lane by a team of oxen. 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