(by Pastor Jean)

The above scripture is found in Phil 2:14 (NIV). I’m sure we are all guilty of grumbling or arguing to some degree or another, and we also know that no none likes someone who is always complaining about things. We are to guard against it because God hates grumbling. When the Israelites were in the wilderness, they did a lot of complaining and God called it rebellion (Ex 16:2-7). When Moses sent spies to spy out the land of Canaan 10 came back with a bad report which again caused the Israelites to complain (Num 14:26-29). Paul refers to this in 1 Cor 10:10 when he tells the Corinthians not to complain “as some of them also complained and were destroyed by the destroyer.” Grumbling and complaining shows a negative attitude and lack of trust in God. I like how the Amplified Bible translates Phil 2:14, “Do everything without murmuring or questioning (the providence of God).” So how can we counteract the temptation to complain and argue? Every day we are faced with choices when things don’t go the way we want, we can choose to be sad (complain) or we can choose to be glad, despite the challenges (Phil 4:4, Ps 118:24). We need to cultivate a grateful spirit, focusing more on the good things in our lives than the bad; we must pray about the negative circumstances we are facing and use our faith to believe that God will turn things around as He promised in Rom 8:28.