Topical Studies
What the Bible says about
Complaining
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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Exodus 16:7
The people thought that they were complaining against Moses and Aaron, but Moses said, "No, you are murmuring against God." They did not see God in the same way that Moses did. He saw God ruling over His creation. He understood that he was God's servant, so when they complained against Moses, they were really complaining against God. Moses interpreted the situation as, if God wanted something done differently, He probably would have moved Moses to act differently.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Submitting (Part 2)
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Exodus 17:2-4
The Israelites were only too happy to receive liberty from their bondage to Egypt. But were very unwilling to obey God, complaining loudly, even rebelling in the wilderness, accusing Moses, Aaron, and by extension, God Himself, for the hardships in the wilderness despite the liberty they received from God through these men. Being in the church is no different, in that sense. We have become part of a body, a nation, the body of Christ, a royal priesthood. God looks at us both as individuals and as a body, and He leads and guides that entire body. He expects those who are now part of the body through baptism and the receipt of His Holy Spirit to be willing to endure whatever the body goes through. Israel was unwilling to do that.
John W. Ritenbaugh
What Is the Work of God Now? (Part Two)
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Numbers 11:1-6
When we start complaining about our plight, it is usually because our focus has shifted off the Lord, who is leading us, and onto our problems, the details of life. It usually involves something we think we ought to have but do not, so we feel as if He has given us the short end of the stick. For instance, we think we would be happy or satisfied if we only had more money, a bigger home, a better job, better health, or some other advantage. So, we focus on these details and become ungrateful, dissatisfied, and bored with spiritual things or God's purposes. God tells us in Deuteronomy 8:3-5 that He fed Israel with the manna to discipline and train them so that they might understand an important truth, but their focus and desire were only on what they were missing and thought they needed. So they complained. Manna was a perfect food and precisely what Israel needed at that time. It was healthy and nutritious, and it was not bland since it could be cooked in many ways. It also provided a perfect spiritual picture, representing Jesus Christ, the true Bread from heaven (John 6:32-35), the only One who can give abundant life. But because the people were focused elsewhere and thought happiness came from things like cucumbers and garlic, they considered it boring, becoming ungrateful for this miraculous food from God. Do we get bored with the spiritual food we receive? Think about it. Complaining is generally the first sign that we are concentrating on our problems or the details of life rather than on Jesus Christ and His Kingdom.
Clyde Finklea
Consequences of a Wrong Focus (Part One)
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Job 2:10
Should a Christian allow himself to bemoan God's goodness even during a trial? When Job's wife wanted him to curse God for bringing trials upon him, Job expressed the right principle of God's universal goodness and fairness when he rebuked her for grumbling. There are times when we may feel like God is not treating us fairly. Job points out that, as God's creations and recipients of His generosity and benevolence, we have no right to complain when He allows us to be afflicted or tests us through hardship.
Martin G. Collins
Fear the Lord's Goodness!
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Proverbs 26:24-26
Secular sociologists and psychologists have done extensive research and observation on most human behaviors, the various forms of anger being no exception. During World War II, military psychologists first used the term "passive-aggressive" to denote the behavior of soldiers who displayed passive resistance and reluctant compliance to orders. While "passive-aggressive" may sound like a person who switches between extremes—first passive, then aggressive—it actually describes one who is aggressive but in a passive, hidden, subtle way. According to these scientists' findings, such aggression—anger, wrath, malice, hatred—may manifest in "striking out" at others in ways that would not normally be considered violent. In their definition, passive aggression can include behaviors such as verbal ambiguity or mixed messages; avoiding responsibility; blaming others; chronic lateness and forgetfulness to avoid an obligation; complaining and general negativity; intentional inefficiency; avoiding verbal or emotional intimacy; not trusting others; manipulation and control of others; superficial submissiveness; back-handed compliments; fault-finding as a defense against getting too close; withholding information; showing displeasure by not conforming to expectations or standards; focusing discontentment on authority figures (employer, parent, teacher, even a spouse who has taken on the parental role); envy and resentment of peers who succeed or are viewed positively by authority figures; obstructing or sabotaging the plans of others; sullenness or sulking; and procrastination when assigned a task that is disliked. At the root of these behaviors is unresolved anger, frequently from childhood and adolescence. Researchers have found that individuals exhibiting passive-aggressive traits often began doing so due to a "power struggle" with a parent. When that primary relationship is dysfunctional, the child of a harsh or intractable parent finds other ways of "expressing" himself—ways to "even the score" without doing anything that really crosses the line. If these patterns of subtly exhibiting anger become ingrained, they carry through into adult relationships and occupations. They become the "normal" way of dealing with things that make the person uncomfortable or if "unreasonable" expectations are put upon him. Latent anger becomes the lens through which the individual sees the world, and passive-aggressive behavior becomes second nature. Thus Paul twice specifically counsels fathers "not [to] provoke your children to wrath" (Ephesians 6:4; Colossians 3:21). As we noted, wrath can be open and obvious or subtle and hidden, and it can acquire targets unrelated to the source. Anger, malice, hatred, and wrath are habits. They are learned and practiced. By the same token, they can be broken and replaced with appropriate and godly responses. Jesus Christ came to fulfill the prophecy in Isaiah 61:1, which includes "healing the brokenhearted" (see Luke 4:18). That healing, if we are willing, includes emotional wounds—"broken hearts"—as well as physical ailments. When we become aware of areas where our hearts are "broken"—areas where they have sustained injury or where we can see they do not work as God's heart does—it is appropriate to take this before God, acknowledge the brokenness, and ask for His healing. Sometimes the healing is instant, and other times it is a process that can take a long time.
David C. Grabbe
Hidden Anger (Part Three)
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Malachi 3:13-16
Malachi wrote in Judea between the return from Babylon and Christ's birth. During that period God's people had grown lackadaisical in their worship, yet a faithful few remained. "'Your words have been harsh against Me,' says the LORD." God accuses them of calling Him into account for what was happening within the nation. They were experiencing difficult times, just as the people of God have frequently endured difficult times. These are times when we cry out to God, "Why, God? Why are you allowing this to happen? When are you going to intervene?" but He does not seem to be listening. "Yet you say, 'What have we spoken against You?'" They did not feel that their accusations were against God, but He gives them an example (verses 14-15). The faithful can see that these others are not very godly. Maybe they see that "the proud" are sinning openly, breaking the commandments of God. Maybe the proud do not have a submissive, quiet, and gentle spirit. Maybe they are aggressive and assertive, and they maneuvered themselves to the head of the group. And they seemed to be getting away with it! Notice what these faithful people did in response to the difficult times they were enduring as part of the ekklesia (verse 16). All of God's faithful people should do these things: 1). They feared God. They respected and revered Him. They stood in awe of Him. Some may have even felt an appropriate measure of terror. 2). They thought on His name. They meditated on it. It can suggest that they esteemed His name. They spoke highly of it. They honored Him. They looked to Him, though they were complaining for leadership and guidance. His name, of course, stands for everything that He is. He does not have just one name, He has many names. They show, or advertise, what He is, what He will do, and what He requires. 3). They fellowshipped with one another. No doubt they spoke of their trials and their blessings, about the things that were going on in the ekklesia of that day, of their studies into God's Word, of their plans, of their expectations of the Kingdom of God. God heard! God watched and responded, maybe not when they would have liked Him to respond, but God did respond in His time, when it was right for His purposes. So will He respond to us! Then God makes a wonderful promise to those who fear Him: "'They shall be Mine,' says the LORD of hosts, 'on that day that I make them My jewels [special treasure—margin]. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him'" (verse 17). In Isaiah 49:15-16, God says, "Yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands...." He is watching! He is aware of what is going on, and He will act!
John W. Ritenbaugh
Guard the Truth!
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Matthew 20:10-12
In our society today, a great deal of talk about fairness leads to laws and policies to address unfairness. In Matthew 20, in the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard, fairness becomes an issue. The landowner hires laborers throughout the day. When the laborers are paid, those who started at the beginning of the day notice that their pay is equal to those who started later. These workers felt that they were not getting what they deserved. This highlights the problem with how the world views fairness. First, it is an emotional, superficial response not based on any deep thought about the biblical principles that should govern equity and justice. Second, it is about getting. Most of us have heard about the two ways of life, so we know about the "get" way. As Herbert Armstrong pointed out, it is the foundation for Satan's approach to all he does. Third, the world's view of fairness is based on an inflated perception of what is deserved, a natural result when getting is the motivation. Satan felt he deserved to be a ruler over God, and he is even now planning to try again to get that position by whatever means possible. How does the world respond when faced with what it sees as unfairness? Because this world's people are unmoored from the Bible and its principles, it is not surprising that their solutions create even more of the problem rather than less. A glaring example of this is affirmative action. God believes in merit, reward based on what one actually does with the talent and abilities He gives (Matthew 25:14-30) and not on a superficial criterion such as skin color. Because skin color is the major criterion of affirmative action, merit, a godly principle, becomes irrelevant. By design, those who have earned a benefit because of their hard work and accomplishment are passed over by one with lesser merit. This law to address fairness, then, creates even more unfairness on two levels. First, one of lesser merit is advanced, while in the second case, one of greater merit is passed over. Often the person receiving the benefit has not actually suffered discrimination. Others before him may have, but not him personally. He receives an unearned benefit at the expense of one who has paid the price to earn it. In another case of what many would call unfairness, consider our calling. In my case, mine began forty-five years ago. No one in either my immediate or extended family has been called. Is that fair? An easy case could be made that many others in my family are more deserving based on their success in living beneficial and productive lives. Is it fair that I and not they have been given mind-boggling eternal opportunities? Could they not complain to God, grousing angrily, "Why this turkey and not us?" Applicable here is the same principle God gives to the laborers in Matthew 20:15, "Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?" Just as the landowner is sovereign over that which he owns, so is God sovereign over His Kingdom. "But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased" (I Corinthians 12:18). Bearing in mind what God has offered us compared to the rest of humanity, do we still at times ever feel God is unfair? Do we ever find ourselves complaining about our lot in life? Do we ever feel we are not getting what we deserve in this life? Romans 6:23 gives us a reality check to gauge what we deserve, what we have earned by our efforts: "the wages of sin is death." Yet, in God's amazing grace and mercy, He has offered us instead life eternal: "For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Thessalonians 5:9). That salvation comes at a price, however, "through our Lord Jesus Christ." His death paid that price. We need to give thought to what we deserve and what instead God has offered us, paying special attention to the great price God and His Son willingly gave while we were yet rebels and sinners (Romans 5:8). Fairness and justice require our deaths. Yet, only by the sacrifice of God and our Elder Brother do we have the offer of unearned eternal life rather than earned eternal death. Because God could have chosen so many others, we should display a profound attitude of gratitude, "giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the saints' inheritance in the light" (Colossians 1:12; Holman Christian Standard Bible). Christ's sacrifice has enabled us. Why was so great a price paid for us, such an undeserving people? The simple answer: love. God is love (I John 4:8, 16). But with this offer of grace, God requires us to become like Him and His Son. We are to become love—to love God and man (Matthew 22:36-40), and like Christ, to become a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1), willing to sacrifice the old man and "put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him" (Colossians 3:10). Human beings have a distorted view of what is fair. So, we need to be careful to work on judging matters based on God's principles of equity and justice rather than the emotional, shallow approach detached from God, as practiced in today's world. In doing that, realize that the grace God has given us, an undeserving people, many would consider unfair. Only because God is good are we given these incalculable benefits—but at a great price. At this time of year, we need to reflect deeply on that price. That voluntary sacrifice—the torture and death of our Creator—is proof of the extent of God and Christ's love for us.
Pat Higgins
Is It Fair?
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Luke 10:16
Luke 10:16 shows that one way to slam the door shut on Christ is to look at the men giving the messages rather than the God who is behind them: "My followers, whoever listens to you is listening to me. Anyone who says 'No' to you is saying 'No' to me. And anyone who says 'No' to me is really saying 'No' to the one who sent me" (Contemporary English Version). If we believe in how minutely God is involved in our lives, then it follows that what is preached in Sabbath services has a purpose and is allowed by the Sovereign God. Therefore, a complaint that we have about a speaker or the message is a complaint against God. Despising the spiritual food God has prepared is dangerous ground to tread. This does not mean the speaker is infallible, by any means, but the wrong attitude effectively diminishes what we can glean from his message. A safer approach would be to offer a prayer for help to understand and see how the food is for our good (Psalm 84:11) rather than to slam the door on the message or the messenger. Either we trust and have faith in God's sovereignty and His love for us, or we do not. There is no safe middle ground (Deuteronomy 30:19).
Pat Higgins
Are We Opening the Door?
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1 Corinthians 10:10
Among the truly distinctive biblical terms describing the attitudes of those journeying through the wilderness are forms of the term "murmur." Such words are not used much today, as most would use a form of "complain," "gripe," "grumble," "protest," "criticize," or "whine." In referring to the children of Israel in the wilderness, the King James Version uses a form of "murmur" 24 times. It is natural to complain against afflictions, losses, and hopeful expectations dashed. We seem to think that our possessions are ours unconditionally, especially those things on which we had set our hearts. We feel that, having worked diligently, we are entitled to success and deserve to enjoy and keep what we have accumulated. In the same way, when we are surrounded by a loving family, no one has a right to break into that circle and strike down a loved one. We live our lives under the sovereignty of God, whose watchful oversight is on us constantly. How do we react to Him when things are not going well? It is easy to gripe without even thinking of the ever-watchful God who promises to supply our every need. We may find ourselves complaining to Him about our state of affairs, as if He is totally unaware. Have we forgotten that this One, who by His grace has called us into a relationship with Him, has neither afflicted us nor allowed us to be afflicted anywhere near what we truly deserve as the wages of our sinful lives? One of the benefits of fully accepting the sovereignty of God is not always appreciated because its cause and solution are not always understood. Comprehending God's sovereignty brings resignation into our lives. In this day, being resigned to something almost seems like a position of defeat, as though at best we have to choose the lesser of two evils rather than forging ahead in confidence to grab life's brass ring. The Reader's Digest Great Encyclopedic Dictionary defines resignation as "the quality of being submissive; unresisting acquiescence." The Reader's Digest Oxford Complete Wordfinder defines it as "uncomplaining endurance of a sorrow or difficulty." The mention of endurance is noteworthy because of Jesus' statement in Matthew 24:13 for the need of endurance. A major benefit of intelligently living by faith, seeking God through His Word, meditating on what we study, and relating everything in life to an awareness of God, looking for His hand in events, is that these activities will gradually produce a much deeper awareness of His loving nearness. It gives us a clearer sense that everything is under control. Recall Jesus' crossing the turbulent Sea of Galilee during a storm. There are huge waves and high winds. The disciples are terrified, but He is sleeping right through it. In fear, they wake Him. He arises and says to the wind and waves, "Peace, be still," and they immediately calm. He then asks His disciples, "Why are you so fearful; how is it that you have no faith?" When we have a right and true recognition of God's sovereignty, the griping and fears that we are so prone to because human nature is so easily offended can diminish considerably. Understanding God's sovereignty better teaches us that we must know that our lives are in God's hands. He owns us body and soul, we are in His view at all times, and we must bow to His will. Therefore, regardless of circumstances, He can take care of us. He never afflicts us with more than we deserve nor more than we can bear (I Corinthians 10:13). If He chooses poverty, poor health, or family problems for us, we must understand that He never piles more on us than we deserve. After all, we killed His Son, and besides that, He has great plans for us in His Kingdom for which we need to be prepared. An upset woman once complained to her minister that church members had heaped much scorn on her and her family by saying derogatory things about them. She asked the minister if anybody else in his memory had had to endure such things. He replied, "Yes, Jesus Christ. All His disciples abandoned Him, and the government put Him, an innocent man, to death. He not only did not complain, He accepted God's will, and before He died, He forgave them all." There are other examples: Job says, "The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away" (Job 1:21). God took away seven sons and three daughters, as well as his wealth and home. As a young boy, Samuel delivered God's judgments on Eli's two sons. That surely must have stung the old priest, but Eli responded, "Let [the LORD] do what seems good to Him" (I Samuel 3:18). Aaron accepted God's verdict of death on his two sons without a murmur (Leviticus 10:3).
John W. Ritenbaugh
Fully Accepting God's Sovereignty, Part Three: The Fruits
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