Articles
Complaining and Grumbling
Jude 16 These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts;
Throughout the scriptures there is an attitude that is always condemned by God. It is the attitude of being a gripping, grumbling, complaining , murmuring, negative person.
1 Corinthians 10:10 nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer.
So what exactly does it mean to be a complainer or a murmurer? I do not believe we are expected to enjoy suffering. When Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane He fell to the ground and prayed that if it were possible let this cup pass from Him. He did not want to go through the crucifixion. His sweat became as great drops of blood. Jesus was not murmuring or complaining. Being distressed because of trial you are going through is not being a grumbler.
In the letter to the Philippians the apostle Paul speaks of the fact that some brethren were preaching the gospel for the purpose of adding affliction to his being in prison. Was Paul being a grumbler? No he was not being a complainer. Paul was just stating the fact of why some people were doing what they were doing. So explaining the facts of negative things being done against you does not make you a complainer.
To understand the grumbling and complaining that God does not like we need to study the examples God uses to explain what He is talking about. These examples are the way the children of Israel responded to the blessings given to them by God.
Numbers 11:6 but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!"
Throughout the time the children of Israel we in the wilderness it seems the continued to murmur against God several times. Right after God freed them from Egyptian slavery by leading them through the Red Sea, the started gripping because they feared they would starve to death or die with nothing to drink. Even when God gave them manna from Heaven to eat, their first response was, “what is it.” In the text here in Numbers 11:6 we see a prime example of what it means to murmur. Rather than being thankful for the blessing God has given them, they grip, and grumble, and murmur.
What it is that God does not want us to do is turn our nose up at the blessings of God, complaining and gripping when we should be grateful and thanking. Be aware of the blessings being showered on you daily by our Lord and be sure to have the right attitude toward them. Be thankful for all the blessings of God.
