Just gotta say it...

Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Hold firmly to the word of life... (Philippians 2:14-16)

Oh boy, I am gonna meddle this morning! How many times do you find it hard not to complain about something that is happening around you? You and I both have issues that arise, causing us to want to little more than complain about them. The stock falls, the interest rate rises, the grocery bill is higher each time we go, the shelves don't contain the can of soup we wanted, and the list goes on. It is indeed a difficult thing to face 'issues' without some form of complaint (even the silent ones we don't utter), isn't it? Living our lives without complaint or argument is difficult, but is it possible?

God wouldn't tell us to live that way if it were not possible. We have often explored the importance of having the Holy Spirit guide our thoughts and actions, and even affect our attitude toward things. Is it possible there is a link between the Holy Spirit guiding our lives and this ability to live without complaint or argument? It could be the ONLY link that will actually help us live this way! The Holy Spirit is our 'direct link' to the strength we need to rise above arguments and to exercise a life of gratitude in the midst of disappointment. 

The more we take time to ask the Holy Spirit to help us 'divide' the Word of Life (God's Word) - taking it in, allowing him to help us 'digest' a bit of it each time, and then walk in that truth - the less we will find ourselves complaining about life. If we haven't figured it out by now, we don't like disappointment. Whenever our 'wishes' are not met, our expectations are dashed, and we feel disappointment. Maybe the key to living as a bright light in this world is to allow the Holy Spirit access to our day before we get too involved in that day. 

The wisdom we need may not be what we are seeking. Remember this - God may give us what we need long before he gives us what we want. Why? We would only complain about what we received because we weren't really ready to receive it! We need to have our hearts prepared to receive what we need. This is the work of the Holy Spirit within - to prepare our hearts to receive not only what we want, but what it is we need most. Remember - the Lord's Prayer asks for God to give us this day our daily bread and forgive our sins - what we need most, even when we don't actually know we want it. Just sayin!

Don't you see the light?

In everything you do, stay away from complaining and arguing so that no one can speak a word of blame against you. You are to live clean, innocent lives as children of God in a dark world full of people who are crooked and stubborn. Shine out among them like beacon lights, holding out to them the Word of Life.  (Philippians 2:14-15 TLB)

True confessions here...sometimes my "beacon" gets a little fogged over by my complaints and verbal agonizing over things not going my way, or that I just simply don't like. It is easy to slip into the complaint-mode, even kind of "second-nature" to some of us. Complaint takes on the issue as something we will "lament" or "object to". It is a subtle form of criticism that sometimes carries with it the idea we have been "wronged" or "put upon" as a result of someone else's actions. To be truthful with you, most of the complaining we do really doesn't accomplish a doggone thing, and may even make us more discontent than the original action did!

We are told to "shine out" as a beacon of light - holding out to all the Word of Life. Shining requires a degree of awareness to our own responses that we sometimes aren't all that keen on developing. I know I feel a certain "tug" in my spirit whenever I drift into the "complaint lane" in life. It is as though the Holy Spirit is saying, "You don't really want to go down that path, do you?" At times it easier to just go along with the crowd than it is to stand up for what we know to be true or right. At others, it is just easier to complain about what we don't understand, or maybe something that gives us a little bit of trepidation. 

Regardless of how we get into the "complaint lane" - by drifting slowly into it, or making a conscious decision to just get into it directly - we find our ability to be a 'beacon' gets a little less effective because people don't want to be around others who complain (or argue) all that much. Sure, there are pockets of people drawn to complaining and arguing - because it is in our nature to follow this course when we don't get our own way. Most of us would rather live above the conflict, though. God hears our complaints - even those spoken under our breath! 

I'd like us to realize something this morning - we shine a light one way or the other. If we avoid the complaining and arguing, we are shining the light in one direction. If we are giving into the complaining and/or arguing, we are still shining a light - it is just toward a different direction. The important thing to keep in mind is that others see the light - they are drawn to it because that is what light does. If it is shining in the right direction, the movement toward the light is less likely to cause others to be "tripped up" along the way. If it is shining in the wrong direction, the light may illuminate the pitfalls, but if that is the only path another sees, they may take it anyway! Maybe this is why we are reminded not to go down the path that encourages others to follow where they may stumble, too.  Just sayin!

Let's get things straight!

Have you ever written a letter of complaint?  We received less than stellar service, or the product we received just did not live up to our expectations - so we resorted to the "complaint" process.  David began this psalm as a letter of complaint - almost as a letter to a complaint department of some big business.  His observation:  Things just weren't working out as well as he'd hoped - either for himself or the evil people around him.  


Whom have I in heaven but you?   I desire you more than anything on earth.
²⁶ My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.  (Psalm 73:25-26 NLT)


His complaints were many - kind of like ours at times....


- The proud prospered despite their wickedness.  They actually were doing well when David suspected they did not deserve to be.  It certainly gets our goat, doesn't it, when the wicked seem to avoid the consequences of their actions?


- The wicked seemed to live painless lives.  In his eyes, he rarely saw them dealing with disease.  Their bodies were healthy and strong - yet God's people were facing things they'd rather have avoided.  In truth, we complain when we see God's kids hurting, don't we?


- They escaped the troubles and problems of the others David observed.  To him, they kind of walked above the muddle of the other problems faced by either his people or himself.  Why is it some seem to live as they want, always escaping the mess they leave behind?


- To David, they flaunted their sin, almost like wearing it like a jeweled necklace or fancy clothing.  They displayed their cruelty and pride as though it was a thing of grandeur.  Now, honestly, doesn't this just drive us nuts?


- They had all they wished for.  Theirs was a life of seeming ease.  No amount of effort ever seemed to be required on their parts - they just succeeded at all they touched, while others seemed to work hard and realize no reward for their toil.


- Their focus is on the advancement of self over others.  They seem not to care who they might step on or walk over in the process.  There is no sense of the other's position or feelings in their dealings - and this irks David.


- The pride of the wicked boasts loudly of all they have done - claiming their fame is not without notice by those who seem to lack any renown at all.


The response of God's people is considered next because one cannot see this repeatedly and not have some type of issue with it.  Their response is pretty much the same as ours - "Hey!  What's up with this?"  They want answers - to understand why there are such inequities between the wicked and those seeking to live upright lives.  It is not uncommon to question the outcome of the wicked.


David's response is to eventually turn to God with the tough questions.  We see him going into the sanctuary of God.  No better place to sort out our complaints, or ponder our fate, than in the presence of God.  There we find David proclaiming:  "I finally understood the destiny of the wicked..."  See, in God's presence, we get perspective.  Things we just don't get are made clear. This brings me to the point of our complaint.  God is never put off by our complaints - he just wants to give us the correct perspective.


To lay things out before God is never a bad  thing.  In fact, God would rather we be honest about our struggle than to hold back or secretly envy the wicked.  When we do, we allow bitterness to enter - feeling as though God is withholding something good from us.  David admitted as much - he allowed his heart to become bitter and he looked on the wicked as "privileged" in some way.  In the presence of God, all such bitterness and envy must melt away.


David's revealing words say it well.  "Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside."  This is the path bitterness takes - a destructive path which leaves us all torn up inside.  God's response to David's honesty - he held his hand and brought him through by  his counsel.  God's goal is not to chastise us for our bitterness and our complaints, but to guide us through to see things as he knows them to really be.  We can do no better than to come to the one who can set us straight in our perceptions and our opinions!

Totally Okay to Complain!

'Come near to God. He's heard your complaints.'

(Exodus 16:9 The Message)

Yesterday, we began to look at the fact that we can turn our complaints from a negative thing into a positive thing - simply by choosing how we choose to use the opportunity of complaining to examine our motivation.  Today, I'd like us to continue in that thought and expand upon it a little.  The people of Israel have been complaining because they are just about out of food - they are hungry!  Truth be told, I complain a little more when I am hungry, too!  There are two lessons I'd like us to see today from this passage.  First, WHO we take our complaints to really does matter.  Second, hunger is a strong motivator.

Moses is faithful to take the concerns of the people to God.  He makes a beeline to the one and only one that he knows will be able to handle the complaint of the people.  Israel has just began to experience the tremendous power of their God (having seen the plagues of Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea).  Now, they will see yet another miracle that will sustain them through their nearly 40 years of wandering through the wilderness.

As he takes their complaints to Lord of Lords, he finds that there is indeed an answer forthcoming.  It would not be something they had seen before.  Their experience would be altered by what God would do for them in providing for their need for food.  Here's the crux of what we usually discover when we take our complaints to God:  Yesterday's known solutions are seldom today's needed solutions.  

We often go about life expecting that what we counted on yesterday will be the exact thing that will bring us through today's fresh challenges.  The fact is, the solution of yesterday MAY work "okay", but it may not be the answer that we need in the here and now!  God has new solutions in mind for his children - when we bring our needs afresh to him, he is able to point out his plans for us that we'd never have considered by relaying on the past solutions.

The second thing is the value of hunger.  Hunger is a strong motivating factor for seeking a new answer from God.  When our hunger is significant enough to look outside of the known solution to a problem, we are open to seeing the greatness of our God on our behalf.  Today's problem is rarely the same as yesterday's - there is usually a different "twist" to it that we may not see apart from the revealing power of God.  Sometimes we are ineffective in overcoming the challenges of today because we don't ask God to show us the way.

Who listens to your complaints?  Is it the right one for the solution that is needed?  There is value in recognizing that our complaints find their greatest opportunity for solution when we bring them to the one who is best equipped to deal with the need behind the complaint!  Let your hunger drive you to find God's newness - don't rely on the old crusts of bread from yesterday when you have the freshness of Manna from Heaven for today!

No complaining or arguing!

¹⁴ Do everything without complaining and arguing, ¹⁵ so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. ¹⁶ Hold firmly to the word of life...

(Philippians 2:14-16)

Nothing delights God more than to look at his children and see purity of heart, purity in our actions, and purity in our words.  Some might think of this as being "blameless".  A true servant will never hesitate to put his heart into his service.  No child of God should think that this walk we call Christianity will require anything less.

Paul's emphasis on being "one in spirit" is foundational to impacting the world with our testimony.  Unity - being able to love one another - not for what the other can do for you, but because there is a heart determined to live in love with the other, is not the easiest challenge.  When we finally understand the purpose God has for us, we understand the purpose of aligning with others that will spur us on to fulfill that purpose.

The idea of living clean, innocent lives seems far-fetched in this perverse world.  We are surrounded by all kinds of evil - we don't have to look far to be inundated with reports of wars, murders, senseless crimes of passion, etc.  The nature and attitude of Christ while he walked this earth was to confront these things head on.  He did not turn his back to the hurting - he embraced them.  We need to be open to being a light without being consumed by the darkness.

The key is "connection" - first with God, then with others who are in love with Jesus.  This connection with his Father gave him the ability to live obediently - to draw from the resources God provides.  We need to learn to "tap our resources" as frequently as he did.  As our example, he modeled the behavior of a servant, a child who relies upon his father, and as a brother who spurs another on to holy living.

Two things that God explains through Paul that will set us out as unique from this world - a lack of complaining and the purposeful refusal to enter into arguments.  Complaining is important to maintaining unity because whenever we complain, we are saying that we want the attention of others to be on us.  It uses energy that we don't have at our disposal to be frivolously wasted.  The capping effect of complaining is that it usually ends in the destruction (the tearing down or apart) of someone else's reputation.  

Not arguing is important because of how arguments usually end - somebody gets hurt.  Our outbursts, however infrequent they may be, are really because we want to be right (we want to win).  It is a hard thing to lay down our right to be right!  Usually, in the argument, one may think they have won, but in actuality, no one really wins when the means to "winning" was in arguing.  The need to win is selfish - God's desire is unity and unity is founded on being able to lay down our self.

The last thought I have today is the final words of this passage:  Hold firmly to the word of life.  The spirit of unity is often exposed in the word of God.  We need to get it into us, allowing it to affect our desire to complain, our need to argue, and are desire to be noticed first.  As we do, unity is possible.  Apart from the word of God acting in our lives, we remain the same self-directed, self-centered individuals.  Unity is only possible in submission and obedience to the principles taught in scripture.  I understand the word of God best when I see it modeled - therefore, I need others around me that also want the word to deeply affect their lives.  As I see the word modeled, I am able to imagine it possible in my life, as well.  We fulfill the purpose of "spurring one another on" in this faith walk!  Live well!