{Rebekah with her husband and son}
Over the past few years, the Lord has been convicting me of the sin of complaining. I can often find myself tempted to believe that complaining is not a sin, excusing this sinful behavior. However, this is neither right nor biblical. Instead, the Bible commands us not to complain (Philippians 2:14) and tells us that our complaining has serious consequences. There are countless examples in Scripture of how people’s hearts were hardened when they complained. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to have my heart hardened! Unfortunately, too many times I have found that my heart, in fact, has been hard, and when I think back to those times, it was usually a time when I was complaining.
I was recently reading a book that talked about how a complaining spirit can lead to fear and stress in our bodies. As I continued to read, I felt like my eyes were opened to the reality that complaining is not a small sin, though it sometimes feels like it is. It’s not just something that we think or do, but it also affects us physically, emotionally, and mentally. (Not to mention how discouraging it is to those around us.)
Not only have some studies concluded that complaining can actually alter our brains, but the Bible itself speaks to how complaining can affect us. Proverbs says, “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones” (Proverbs 17:22).
Complaining hurts us and those around us, that much is true. But it can hinder our testimony as well. Proverbs 20:11 says, “Even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright.” We are to be lights shining in a dark world (Proverbs 2:14-15) and are not to be conformed to this world (Romans 12:2).
I also think of how those of us who are wives and mothers often set the tone for the home. If we have a spirit of complaining and grumbling, that is going to be reflected in our home and affect our loved ones. Our children will learn that complaining is okay and that it doesn’t need to be taken seriously. As a result, we will build a home that is a place of discontentment and unrest.
But thank God there is hope! In order to fight this sinful tendency to complain, one habit I’ve been trying to cultivate is praying more prayers of gratitude throughout the day. I do this while writing down three things at the end of the day that I’m grateful for. I have found that even doing it a few days a week has started to change my outlook.
It’s amazing how quickly the Holy Spirit can move when we lean into what God is revealing to us about our hearts. We have an incredibly kind God! It is encouraging to see how the Lord blesses us when we walk in the way he wants us to go and how gratitude truly can bring joy and contentment to our lives, no matter what the circumstance.
