We all grumble... its just part of the human condition. I think its deeply connected to our sense of time. We were made to live in the present, each moment, each breath is a gift. But, how often do we live in the past? Or, maybe we spend so much time stewing over the future that we miss what God is doing right in front of us. Our problem is we forget. We forget what God has done for us, or we try to explain it away. That erodes our ability to be grateful. Our capacity to live in gratitude is deeply connected to our ability to live in wholeness.
We all quarrel too. For some it may be the passive aggressive sarcastic remark that waits just under our tongue. For others of us it may be the eruption waiting to unleash on those closest to us or maybe even those who serve us like waiters or checkers at the grocery store. Complaint is a language of our culture.
All of this, I believe, is rooted in our uncanny ability to block out memories that lead to gratitude while amplifying our memories that lead to complaint. I heard once that bad news travels ten times faster than good news. For example, my internet home page is cnn.com and the headline news is almost always bad. Today, on the very bottom of the page was a brief article about Bruno Serato of the White House Restaurant in Anaheim. There he feeds over 200 hotel children each day. A ray of good news in a spectrum of bad.
So, I decided to pause in from my grumbling... I emailed the info address at Bruno's restaurant and asked how our church could help. He responded personally within the hour from Italy where he is being interviewed for TV about his work here. We will get together when he returns in April. Its amazing what a ray of good news and a choice to embrace an opportunity can do. I realized in the process what a great deal of grumbling I have been doing lately, grumbling that has been keeping me from what God wants me to be up to, like helping Bruno or connecting people with Liveten24 in Niger.
Then Moses cried out to the LORD, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.”
Exodus 17:3-4
When I read the scriptures, I realize that I am in good company... All may favorite bible characters were cowards and complainers. The entire people of Israel had just witnessed the most drastic jailbreak in the history of the universe! Set free, given wealth beyond belief, having walked through the Sea of Reeds (Sorry it wasn't the Red Sea, bad translation) and what is the first thing they do? Grumble and quarrel with Moses and God about their conditions! Moses even named the place where they rested Massah and Meribah... grumble and quarrel! What a short memory the people had. But don't we do the same thing?
I am prompted to think about my family, and the all the miraculous things God did in bringing our children into the world, and preserving Michelle when she could have died. Or about how God brought me to my church and built something amazing out of nothing. And what is the first thing I do when I'm hit with a big tax bill, and a lean bank account?... grumble and quarrel. "Oh LORD why have you brought us out here to starve?" God brought us this far, shouldn't I trust him to cover any need? (Disclaimer: we are still responsible for good planning and faithful stewardship) It took the generosity of a good friend, who gifted us a tithe of our bill, to remind me that God is not worried and I shouldn't be grumbling. The test for us is always one of memory; will we remember and rely upon a history of God's faithful provision, or will we grumble and quarrel in a world of negativity.
What opportunity is waiting for you today? What good in the world is calling you out of grumbling and quarreling? May Jesus' love be radiant in and through your life.
In Jesus' Name
Amen
