Recently my wife Joie and I sat down for lunch at a good eating establishment. It was one of my favorite meals—roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy. However I noticed that the roast beef wasn’t quite done and the gravy had a funny taste. Of course, I was obligated to comment on the deficiencies at some length. Joie with her characteristic tact declaimed, “Honey, you sure are cranky.” Full of the Holy Spirit I replied, “O, you’re right. I’ll quit my complaining and do better.” That was pretty close to what I said. “I am not! What makes you say that?”
To find fault is easy; to do better may be difficult. (Plutarch) Complaining and murmuring are traits roundly condemned in scripture. The fact many of us indulge doesn’t lessen the seriousness of the offense. A classic story in the Torah exposes the true nature of complaining.
Numbers 21: 4-5 “Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient because of the journey. So the people spoke against God and Moses: ‘Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we are disgusted with this miserable food.’”
God had just granted Israel a big victory over their enemies at Hormah. But the length of the journey, the heat, the repeated challenges of the wilderness unleashed a loud chorus of whining. God released fiery (venomous) serpents against them who bit the Israelites and many died. When the children of Israel cried out to Moses for relief, God had him fashion a brazen serpent and put it up on a pole. All the Israelites who looked up at the brazen serpent were saved.
Many times when we murmur and complain, our own words become fiery serpents. They come back to haunt us and poison us. As long as we are looking at the ground, at our problems, our irritations, these serpents continue to attack us. Looking up brings us back to reality—our God still reigns on His throne in righteousness and majesty.
1 John 3 reminds us that the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. The bronze serpent was a picture of a defeated serpent—it could bite no one nor harm anyone. It was like the head of Goliath—David placed it where all Israel could see it and realize that their great enemy no longer had any power over them. Yeshua told Nicodemus in John 3 that he would be lifted up like the serpent in the wilderness and all who believed in Him would have eternal life.
How do we lift our gaze to behold the Messiah? How do we turn to Him when we have this overwhelming urge to complain? It is by proclaiming His goodness, His power, His love, His faithfulness. It is by proclaiming “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Complaining at its root comes from the human tendency to focus on ourselves, on our needs, and on our comfort. The great sin of complaining is that in reality it is finding fault with our merciful God. Focusing on Yeshua and his redeeming mercy lifts our gaze to comprehend the truth and allows Him to minister to our needs. Lifting our eyes to Him requires intentionality and commitment but blesses us with eternal reward.
John Conrad
BYNA Elder
