Paul says in Philippians 2:14 “Do everything without grumbling or complaining.” Why shouldn’t we complain? Why is it wrong to complain, especially if there is no one around? What is wrong with with it? And everything? Are there times that we are “allowed” to complain without it being a sin?
This post with all of these questions are for myself more than they are for other people. Recently, I have been complaining more than ever and I have had this verse on the forefront of my mind. I am going to take these questions one by one and answer them to the best of my ability. I am no scholar nor have I ever claimed to have all the answers. This is just what I have learned.
To begin, why would we want to complain? God, our creator, provider, sustainer of life, every breath we breathe, every beat of our heart, our everything, has given us more than we deserve and nothing less. Every breath we breathe is a blessing and yet we think we are something, and a bag of chips, when things don’t go our way, or something doesn’t go as planned. If God has given us so much, why would we want to complain? That would be like a person being saved from a fire complaining because the person that saved them was wearing pink. As ridiculous as that sounds it is just was we do when we complain to God. God knows what he is doing and doesn’t have to answer to us when your plans don’t line up with His.
The second answer is just as obvious as the first, God, of course, is omnipresent, and because of that he hears everything. It’s ridiculous for us to think that we have some kind of right to walk up to the face of God and tell Him that what He is doing is wrong, or tragic, or inhumane, or anything else. James 1:2 says we should “consider it nothing but joy when we fall into all sorts of trials” We should not only not complain, but we should consider joy when we have trials. By all sorts, James means, no matter what happens to change your plans, no matter what persecutions you face, no matter who ticks you off, no matter what inconveniences you, you should count it joy. And not only should you consider it joy, you should consider it nothing but joy.
You should have no other thoughts in your mind that whatever happens has been ordained by God and that should bring you JOY! God will not let anything happen to you that would make you complain. Paul also says, when addressing the church at Corinth “No trial has overtaken you that is not faced by others. And God is faithful: He will not let you be tried beyond what you are able to bear, but with the trial will also provide a way out so that you may be able to endure it.” This verse is so awesome! God will not give you a problem that causes you to sin. Yes, it might be hard, but God ALWAYS gives you a way to escape.
This verse, in James, also shows the importance of the church body. The beginning of the verse says, “No trial has overtaken you that is not faced by others.” There is nothing that you or I are going through that no one has gone through. God places people in our lives so that when we are going through these trials we can talk it over with people. And we shouldn’t be worried to talk to people that are older and even wiser than us because of the age difference. Those are people that have more knowledge than we could even imagine and God has placed them in our lives. Why wouldn’t we want to take advantage of that and spring of knowledge?
In the end complaining will get us no where. God has ordained whatever will happen and He will not give us a situation to sin against Him, He is a much greater God than that and will ALWAYS give us an ulterior way so that we do not escape.
I absolutely loved this book. Jason Boyett knows how to keep the readers attention. The writing style reminded me of “Blue Like Jazz” by Donald Miller. Boyett is informal with his audience and just tells it like it is. He is also not afraid of using humor. I found myself laughing hysterically at a few of the comments he made about his personal life, but not at him. I was laughing because so often I feel the same way he does. Especially, when it comes to doubt. I have had the same issues and still do quite often. The book of James had a lot to say about faith and in James 1:3 he says “for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” The more our faith is tested the more our faith is set. Boyett was very real with his faith and his doubts.
