Illustration: A man walked into a hardware store and asked for a chain saw advertised to cut six trees in an hour. He came back the next day fussing and complaining, "This chainsaw is defective. It would only cut 1 tree and it took ALL DAY!" The salesman said, "Let me look at it," and reached down and started the chainsaw. The man said, "What's that noise?" He had not started the chainsaw. He thought it was a regular saw.
Today I will talk about "The Sin of Complaining/Grumbling." Is complaining the same with grumbling? Both are expressions of dissatisfaction/discontent, or annoyance about something or a situation. But according to a dictionary, grumbling is the expression or act of complaining in a bad-tempered way. King James Version often calls it "murmuring." Illustration: A monk joined a monastery and took a vow of silence. After the first ten years, his superior called him in and asked, "Do you have anything to say?" The monk replied, "Food bad." After another ten years, the monk again had the opportunity to voice his thoughts. He said, "Bed hard." Another ten years went by, and again he was called in before his superior. When asked if he had anything to say, he responded, "I quit." The superior responded: "It doesn't surprise me a bit. You've done nothing but complain ever since you got here."
Do you complain or grumble a lot? Complaining is so typical these days. People like to complain about everything: pandemic, weather, gas price, inflation, travel restrictions, traffic, taxes, and troubles of all kinds! Somebody said, "On the seventh day, God rested, and on the 8th day, God started answering complaints." How about us? Do we complain about the weather? Some people complain about cold weather, hot weather, rainy weather, cloudy weather, and sunny weather. How do we speak about our spouse or children? What kinds of things do you say about your job? Do we complain about someone who didn't treat us the way we thought we should be treated? Are we genuinely content with what the Lord determines for us? Did you realize that complaining is directed at God, who has control over our circumstances? That is why complaining can be a serious sin.
Look what happened to God's people, Israel! God had incredibly blessed them, delivering them supernaturally from slavery in Egypt, protecting them against their enemies - even miraculously supplying daily bread and water for them in the desert. Sadly, they still complained: complained about their food, water, the imaginary luxuries they had left behind in Egypt, and against their leaders. Numbers 14:1-4 tell us – "That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?" And they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt." Because of their complains, God would punish them. But Moses asked God's forgiveness for them. Here is God's answer in verses 20-23 - "The Lord replied, "I have forgiven them, as you asked. Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth, not one of those who saw my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times—not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their ancestors. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it."
We should be careful not to complain/grumble so that we won't commit the sin that causes negative consequences in our lives, like what happened to Israelites! Now let's learn why complaining/grumbling is a sin. Complaining began after the Fall of Adam and Eve. When God created Eve for Adam to be his suitable helper, he was so happy. But after he sinned, he blamed it on God for what he did. He said to God, "The woman YOU put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it." (Gen 3:12)." Adam was the first complainer in the world. Here we see why complaining/grumbling is a sin because:
I. It is doubting God's love and wisdom and denying His sovereignty in our lives. When Israelites grumbled and complained against Moses and Aaron, they were actually calling to question God's ability to carry out his will. Complaining and grumbling are just the surface symptom of a much deeper problem--discontent. That is why the Bible so strongly condemns them. Complaining/grumbling are evidence that we are dissatisfied with God's way of doing things and expressing unbelief toward God's sovereignty in our lives. The Bible states, "In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Rom. 8:28). If we really believe that God controls our lives and is working in all things for our good, we will stop complaining and start thanking Him. Complaining/grumbling is the symptom of a deep-seated spiritual problem. It is a failure to trust God and failure to submit to His providential will. It is a serious sin. The solution to this problem is to recognize our sin and then realize and acknowledge that our heavenly Father always knows what's best for us.
II. It is against God's will. 1 Thess. 5:18 tells us to - "be thankful in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." Complaining/grumbling show our disobedience to God's will! He tells us to give thanks in all circumstances, but we complain and grumble instead. When we grumble and complain, we are like a child who was sent to work, but he said, "No, I don't want to!" Or like Pharaoh who told Moses: "Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice?"
III. It Discourages other Brothers and Sisters. After returning from spying on the Promised Land, the ten spies gave a negative report regarding the situation. In Numbers 13:31-33, we read - "But the men who had gone up with him said, "We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are." And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them." Those ten spies affected the whole nation of Israel. Their complaint was so contagious that it spread like wildfire. Because of their complaints, God punished them. Numbers 14:36-37 tell us about God's punishment toward them.
Therefore, we need to be careful not to complain/grumble. Because, for example, our negative comments expressed when meeting with other congregations made the atmosphere uncomfortable, had a negative and not constructive impact. There is a saying, "When one dogs begins to bark, a number of dogs begin to bark. When one frog begins to croak in a pond, others begin to croak." You get one disgruntled complainer, and it won't be long before it spreads to many. Sometimes during worship, some Christians put themselves like judges on the American Idol or America Got Talent. They observe and score how worship is going on, how well the worship leader and the preacher are, etc. Illustration: A father complained about the church service at a church he and his son had just attended. He said, "The songs were not lifting up. The choir was bad. The sermon was boring!" His son replied: "Not bad for a dollar, Dad!"
Be a Christian who builds and strengthens others like Matthew Henry. Illustration: Matthew Henry, who wrote a commentary on every book of the Bible, was once robbed. The robbers took everything of value that he had. Later that evening, he wrote in his diary these words, "I am thankful that during these years I have never been robbed before. Also, even though they took my money, they did not take my life. Although they took all I had, it was not much. Finally, I am grateful that it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed."
IV. It Hinders Our Witness to the World. We talk about God and how much we love Him and how good He is, but we often live as if He does not exist – complaining and grumbling all the time." Paul reminds us in Phil 2:14-15 to "Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, "children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation." Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky." We are to do all things without complaining so that we will be blameless and pure. How we live has a dramatic impact not only on whether or not we are consistent as a child of God. A constantly grumbling/complaining Christian can be a stumbling block for non-believers to come to Christ. Nobody likes to be around people who are always grumbling/complaining. This world is not interested in Christians who like to complain. They are like people selling hair growth medicine, but they are bald. Or people promoting acne medicine, but they have acne. Let's learn from Paul and Silas, who became a tremendous testimony in the Philippian jail. What if they had been grumbling and complaining about their situation? What if Silas had said, "Paul, we should have shared the Gospel more carefully. You didn't have to show off and cast the demon out. Now, look at the trouble we're in." Then Paul replied, "I am sure I did what is right! You better be silent and pray. Okay!" If that dialogue had been going on between Paul and Silas, do you think the jailor would have asked, "What must I do to be saved?" I doubt it! He probably would have said, "What must I do to stay away from this Christianity thing?" Believers, our testimony is important, crucial. God uses our lives to influence others. A. W. Tozer said, "Among those sins most exquisitely fitted to injure the soul and destroy the testimony, few can equal the sin of complaining." Complainers are "missionaries of misery."
Complaining always hurts those around us. That is why Paul warns us in 1 Cor 10:10 – "And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel." Also, James 5:9 tells us – "Don't grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!" The Bible tells us that Christians should not be complainers. It is sinful and also useless. Mark Twain said, "Don't complain and talk about all your problems--80 percent of people don't care; the other 20 percent will think you deserve them." As we celebrate Thanksgiving this week, let's give thanks instead of complaining/grumbling. Happy Thanksgiving! May God help us! Amen!
