"Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world". Philippians 2:14,15
Complaining is a sin. Did you know that? We all get frustrated and tired and sometimes say things we wish we could take back but it is still a sin. We must recognize it and repent. One of the most difficult elements of my job was keeping others upbeat; keeping them motivated and positive-you know that secular saying, "look at the glass half full; not half empty"? I was the poster child for it. Being around negativity actually bothered me and weighed me down. I did not like it growing up, I did not like it at the office and I have zero tolerance for it today. My husband and I pray all the time that our mouths breathe life and not death. When we grovel, complain, judge, gossip...we are breathing death. The Lord wants us to exude love. His love. Study His 3 year walk on earth to learn and see how He handled temptation, the flesh, the world's ways, to better understand yourself and your own walk. We are all exposed to the ways of the world whether it is at work or any public place. People are all around us and they are used by the enemy to make us sin. I want to share some ways to combat this when you feel defeated. The first thing is to rest. A good night's sleep makes us stronger for the battle. It makes everything easier to handle. Allow yourself to rest in the Lord's peace and His promise of always being with you so you are eased of any burden of worry. Another remedy is to wake up each morning and thank the Lord for the day and give Him your day. Ask Him to come with you during your entire day whether you are headed to work, school or staying in the home. Make Him a part of your life. Then put on the armor of God. The helmet of salvation to the shoes of peace. Ephesians 6:15 Strap on your shield of faith to protect you from the fiery darts of the evil one. And lastly be love. Think love, show love, speak love, act love. Be God's love. So when the thoughts come of discouragement or anger and you want to just complain and be negative, you will be able to change your mindset to that of our Savior and you will think like Him which in turn will make you act and speak like Him. So today change the way you are if you consider yourself to be negative person. Stop justifying it by saying you are a realist. Just give it to God and ask Him to show you how to be more like Him. Watch your life and those around you transform. Your presence will be uplifting and your ways will be contagious. Isn't that just awesome?
There are several examples of the sin of murmuring in the New Testament, like the parable of the laborers in the vineyard (Matt. 20:1-16). They murmured because they had worked all day while others who had worked for a much shorter period received the same wages. They had received their just due but they still murmured.
The scribes and Pharisees murmured against the disciples of Jesus because they ate and drank with publicans and sinners but they were really striking out at Jesus (Luke 5:29-32). They did not care that the publicans and sinners needed Jesus. They were only concerned with their personal agenda.
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