I must confess that I do this quite often. Complaining is something that I can hardly stop myself from doing but upon closer look, it does not really provide relief.
"With their patience worn out by the journey, the people complained against God and Moses... In punishment the Lord sent among the people saraph serpents, which bit the people so that many of them died. Then the people came to Moses and said, We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you. Pray the LORD to take the serpents from us."
- NUMBERS 21
When we complain, our afflictions are multiplied. The minute we complain, the object we take issue with becomes much heavier. We also burden those with whom we are complaining to.
What is the cure of complaining then?
The Israelites were tired and hungry, walking on foot from Egypt to Israel. They complained about their food to one another.
Because God was the Giver of the food, He was displeased from their complaining. He sent snakes(!) to them and the people became all the more distressed (of course!). When we complain, worse things happen. If we do not complain, our suffering is not multiplied.
In God's mercy, He instructed that a saraph be made and mounted on a pole. Then, all those bitten by the serpents could only look at the saraph and be healed.
Looking at the saraph serpent is like looking at far worse things that can happen to us. It is acknowledging that complaining is futile and that we must even be grateful that we are not enduring something worse.
Jesus had much to complain about! He was sought after every day in his ministry to heal, preach, resolve controversies and answer difficult questions. Despite all the wondrous miracles he performed, he was still jailed, ridiculed, tortured and killed. He could have complained every single day about all of humanity being so very different than what they were created to be and He would have been justified.
Jesus did ask His heavenly Father a question - "Why have You abandoned me?" which is not so much a complaint but a cry of pain.
We see that there is a type of complaint that is just. Job 6 details a desperate yet humble man's questions for the Almighty. Deep sorrow and suffering ultimately turns our souls to ask, "Why?" and these questions turn us to God and He does not find fault in us.
When injustice happens, the soul must cry out to God - and cannot keep silent. This is not the kind of complaining we are talking about.
Complaining is akin to ingratitude. It is failure to see the good in situations that God has allowed to happen in our lives. If we can exchange mentioning a complaint and instead say a thanksgiving, this will do a lot in lightening our load.
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