The contagious joy of not grumbling.

‘Do everything without grumbling so that you will become happy children of God drawing smiles in a dark, grumpy world.’ Philippians 2: 14-16 (My paraphrase) Not grumbling is the key to happiness!  Grumbling dissipates your spiritual power; separates you from God; and pollutes your relationship with others. Over the next 3 days I’m going to discuss the dangers of grumbling.

Grumbling is self-defeating. God is in the business of making you a spiritual powerhouse.  He puts difficulty in your life so that you will learn to trust Him above your own adequacies and inadequacies. As you trust God you become your true you. Grumbling destroys trust.

(1) The easiest way not to trust is to grumble. I don’t have to even admit I’m not trusting.  I simply invite resentment in. It pollutes my happy heart. Resentment never stays in its own corner of the heart. It soon takes over! Now I am a weight on others, introducing my resentment to their hearts.

(2) The second easiest way not to trust is to complain to someone else. At times our burdens are too great to bear. Ask for help. This is not the same as whining. Ask and you shall receive. Complaining suggests that someone is being unfair. But God is actually developing spiritual power in my life. My lack of patience and trust cannot be shirked onto someone else’s shoulders. I must grow deeper into trusting God as a child trusts his father.

(3) The third easiest way not to trust is to blame someone else for my problems. I don’t have the courage to blame God so I blame someone else - either to his face or about him behind his back.  We are now in the unhappy arena of rivalry and strife. When I grumble I leak spiritual power. I can blow a spiritual gasket. I become part of an already dark grumpy complaining world. Bees buzz, grumblers grumble and children giggle.  Don’t grumble!