March 14

March 14

The People's Complaining -- Israel's complaining & God's judgment.

Today's Readings:

Reading 1: Numbers 11

Reading 2: Numbers 12

Reading 3: Philippians 2:14-16

Complaining is common. We all complain at times, and some of us complain all the time. The thinking goes that when we complain, others will give us sympathy for our hard lot in life. But complaining is not the innocuous diversion from hardship that it appears to be. For the believer, complaining is a serious and highly contagious sin.

The reason for this is that, by complaining, we are saying "God isn't doing a very good job of running the universe, and He could do much better as it relates to my life."

That is a very serious, unbelieving sin!

And today we see the consequences in the people of Israel when they complained. Even today there are serious consequences for complaining: we miss out on God's provision for us, we see the world through unbelieving eyes, and we fail to trust God. That is a perilous state for anyone!

The Apostle Paul gives us the key to overcoming complaining. In his letter to the Philippians, he writes "Hold firmly to the word of life." By allowing God's Word to be alive and active in our hearts and minds, we can shake off the sinful complaining ways of the world around us.

Maybe today you want to look at your output (whether spoken, written, or posted online) and ask God whether it shows that you are holding firmly to the word of life, or complaining about something?

Have a great day!

Mark.