‘Don’t I have a right to complain? Wild donkeys bray when they find no green grass, and oxen low when they have no food’. Job 6:5
‘One of the most visible results of a discontented heart comes right out of our mouths. Complaining is a habit we all seem to learn. We start young, and we learn it very well. Nobody needs to teach us how to complain. It comes quite naturally. And nowhere is this gift of gripe more apparent than in children. A child can complain before they even learn how to speak’
– Taken from the Devotional Cultivating Contentment
I have to smile reading the statement above, because I can see (in my mind) that ‘pouting child’ as I read it…lol
Well one thing we need to remember is that although ‘complaining’ in many forms comes rather naturally, if we don’t make a point to ‘curb’ our tongue we can develop a really bad habit of being a non-stop complainer. Have you ever been around a person who complains non-stop?!?!?!?! OMG…. Soooooooooooooooooooo Unattractive!
We’ve got to be intentional in choosing NOT to complain about everything all the time. Everyone around you knows that this world isn’t perfect, and never will be (if it was then we’d all be in heaven). So there is no point to constantly sharing your complaints with the world around you, it really just pulls down the mood, and it hardly ever makes you feel better after you’ve done it.
And finally I would say to the passage I quoted from Job, that although there are times when things are sooooo bad that you just need to VENT your frustrations, don’t get lost in that, because if that donkey or ox kept complaining but never went about looking for what they needed they would just end up dying in a state of starvation AND discontent.
Yes there’s a time and place for everything, so after you’ve expressed whatever is frustrating you THEN there comes a time for you to DO something about it, and complaining while you’re trying to accomplish a goal is counterproductive and will ultimately suck motivation out of you. If you’re wanting to make change, focus on the positives, and trust me… this will motivate and fuel you to keep on going.
Colleen