Young children, I think, may be natural whiners. They learn very early that one easy way to obtain what they’re after is to act pathetic—loudly and long. Some favorite expressions are “Why-y-y?” and “But I wa-a-ant . . .” Unfortunately, some folks never outgrow their need to whine, and we find adults who still expect complaining to get results. (It does indeed get results, but not usually positive.)
Part of growing up is learning to handle minor irritations without saying everything one thinks. Undoubtedly, we all have our pet peeves; one of mine is drivers who speed across the marked spaces of a parking lot, paying little heed to those who are driving carefully in the proper traffic lanes. But muttering about it does not change their inconsiderate behavior, and it certainly doesn’t improve my day. If I don’t dwell on the incident, though, pretty soon it just goes away. A little discipline of the tongue helps turn the mind to more pleasant things.
Not every difficulty, however, can be treated by just ignoring it and waiting for it to disappear. There are, sometimes, genuine stressors that complicate life in consistently harsh ways. Take, for example, the exodus from Egypt by the children of Israel. They were hungry, thirsty, and sick of the journey that seemed to be leading nowhere. So, like the “children” they were, their attitude got all whiney. Over and over, they complained to Moses who was leading the multitude. The first few times, God quickly stepped in and did something miraculous, opening the Red Sea for them to pass through and making the bitter water of Marah safe to drink.
I guess after that they thought that all they needed to do was whine a little and everything would be fine. Moses warned them, “You’re not complaining to me; you’re complaining to God.” But they continued their grumbling until finally God said to Moses and Aaron, "How long is this going to go on, all this grumbling against me by this evil-infested community? I've had my fill of complaints from these grumbling Israelites. Tell them, ‘As I live—God's decree—here's what I'm going to do: Your corpses are going to litter the wilderness—every one of you twenty years and older who was counted in the census, this whole generation of grumblers and grousers. Not one of you will enter the land and make your home there, the firmly and solemnly promised land, except for Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.’ “ (Numbers 14:26-30 The MSG)
It would seem that God doesn’t tolerate whining indefinitely, even when the complaining really seems justifiable. He inspired the Apostle Paul to write very succinctly, “Rejoice evermore,” and “Be ye thankful.” (I Thessalonians 5:16; Colossians 3:15 KJV) You don’t need to do an irritating Pollyanna imitation; just remember that “part of growing up is learning to handle minor irritations without saying everything one thinks,” and keep your attitude adjusted!
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture marked The MSG taken from The Message. Copyright © 2003 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. Scripture marked KJV is taken from The Holy Bible, King James Version.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment