BACKGROUND:
The Philippian church was dear to Paul’s heart. He didn’t want his absence from them to be a detriment to their spiritual growth. So he requested that they always be careful to follow his instructions, even while he was away. They must put into action God’s saving work by obeying God with deep reverence and fear. Paul was calling the entire church to work together to rid themselves of divisions and discord.
Paul had advice for how they could go about acting out their faith—they should stay away from complaining and arguing. Complaining translates from a word that describes a bad attitude which expresses itself in constant grumbling. The word for arguing has a legal connotation and may refer to the Philippian Christians going to civil courts to settle their differences, an action Paul condemned elsewhere.
Complaining and arguing are completely opposite to Christ’s attitude, which believers are to emulate. They also give people a bad impression of the church, and no one should be able to speak a word of blame against the believers. If all that people know about a church is that its members constantly argue, complain, and gossip, they get a bad impression of Christ and the gospel. Unbelievers then feel justified in criticizing the Christians. Probably more churches have split from causes related to arguing and complaining than from heresy.
Instead, believers’ lives ought to be clean, meaning beyond reproach, incurring no justifiable criticism. This does not mean sinless perfection; instead, the church was to be beyond the criticism of the unbelieving world. Their lives also ought to be innocent. There ought to be nothing within the church that would weaken its strength or contaminate the truth.
The church of Philippi needed to fulfill its mission in the world, and it could best do so by being clean and innocent children of God right in the middle of the depraved culture. The contrast with their culture would be so stark that the believers would shine brightly. They bring the light of truth into the darkness of depravity, as stars light up the darkness of the night.
SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)
Complaining is a kill-joy. It makes you unhappy, everybody else around you unhappy. The problem is that it is a hard habit to break. We are naturally negative. We tend to look at the bad things in life. We are conditioned by society. Bad news makes the headlines. We are bombarded continuously with what's wrong with everything. By our own nature and by our conditioning we tend to develop the habit of complaining.
How do you make an impact in the world so that the world takes notice? Check your attitude. Be positive in a negative world.
Wouldn't it be great that our church had the reputation of "That's where all the positive people go. You never hear a complaint or grumble over there. That's the church where there is love, unity, harmony." Where there is harmony, love, unity you would have to lock the doors to keep people out. The church would grow automatically because people are looking for love. Every time you say a smile, shake somebody's hand, say "Hi", greet somebody, give a hug, you are spreading love in this body. You're making a difference. You're making an impact. You're shining like a star in a dark world.
Wouldn't it be great that our church had the reputation of "That's where all the positive people go. You never hear a complaint or grumble over there. That's the church where there is love, unity, harmony." Where there is harmony, love, unity you would have to lock the doors to keep people out. The church would grow automatically because people are looking for love. Every time you say a smile, shake somebody's hand, say "Hi", greet somebody, give a hug, you are spreading love in this body. You're making a difference. You're making an impact. You're shining like a star in a dark world.
What would happen in your business if all of a sudden all of the complaining stopped? What would happen in your home if your family made a pact that they wouldn't complain, be critical, tear each other down? Kids, what would happen in your family if all of a sudden you stopped griping? Maybe you would get your way a little more often. So, how do we conquer complaining?
DEVELOP THE ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE
I Thessalonians 5:18 says, "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." God says "I want you to be thankful in all circumstances." It does not say "for all circumstances". You cannot always be thankful for the circumstances, but you can be thankful in the situation. I know that God is working all things for good. He has a pattern and He fits even the bad things in our lives into that pattern for good. God's purpose for my life is greater than my problems, so in everything I can give thanks. Not for but in.
I develop the attitude of gratitude and I learn to be grateful for what I have. It's a tremendous antidote for complaining. Whenever we are complaining, we are usually being ungrateful. You can focus on either the negative or the positive. Is the cup half empty or half full? It all depends on how you look at it. Why is it that we often don't value what we have in life until it's gone?
Of course there are things in your life that you are not satisfied with. There are some things in your marriage that you don't like, things in your business, habits in yourself, your mate, your children, your boss. But I believe there are also some things in those situations and people that you could learn to be thankful for. The Bible says that Christians are to be different. We are to do everything without complaining and arguing that we may be the sons of God, blameless and harmless in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation in which we shine as lights of the world. We stand out in a crowd. We shine like lights because we're different.
I Thessalonians 5:18 says, "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." God says "I want you to be thankful in all circumstances." It does not say "for all circumstances". You cannot always be thankful for the circumstances, but you can be thankful in the situation. I know that God is working all things for good. He has a pattern and He fits even the bad things in our lives into that pattern for good. God's purpose for my life is greater than my problems, so in everything I can give thanks. Not for but in.
I develop the attitude of gratitude and I learn to be grateful for what I have. It's a tremendous antidote for complaining. Whenever we are complaining, we are usually being ungrateful. You can focus on either the negative or the positive. Is the cup half empty or half full? It all depends on how you look at it. Why is it that we often don't value what we have in life until it's gone?
Of course there are things in your life that you are not satisfied with. There are some things in your marriage that you don't like, things in your business, habits in yourself, your mate, your children, your boss. But I believe there are also some things in those situations and people that you could learn to be thankful for. The Bible says that Christians are to be different. We are to do everything without complaining and arguing that we may be the sons of God, blameless and harmless in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation in which we shine as lights of the world. We stand out in a crowd. We shine like lights because we're different.
Think upon these things today. I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course.
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