July 18, 2010
Dr.
Ron Sumners
Philippians # 9
Whine or Shine
Philippians 2:14-18
A man entered a Monastery to become a
monk. In addition to the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience, he took a vow
of silence. He could not speak at all except on a specific day once a year when
he stood before the Abbott, who allowed him two words. The first years his
words were, “Bed hard.” The second years his words were, “Food bad.” After the
third years, he came again to the Abbott and said, “I quit!” To which the
Abbott replied, “I’m not surprised, you’ve done nothing but complain since you
got here!”
Complaining is commonplace. The problem
is; it is a hard habit to break. Some people are naturally negative. Others
look for the bad things of life. It has been said, “Don’t complain and talk
about your problems – 80% of people don’t care; the other 20% will think you
deserve them!” We are surrounded by complainers. A few may live under your
roof, at your job; one of them may just be you!
People gripe about everything. It’s
interesting that the most indulged society is the most discontent. The more we
have, the more we seem to be discontent with what we have and the more
complaining we seem to do.
What do we complain about? What makes us
angry, hostile or even violent; things that increase our blood pressure? There
are things like traffic jams, slow drivers, long lines, crying babies,
misplaced keys, cold food, noisy neighbors, tight clothes, unsuccessful diets.
We gripe about stupid bosses, lazy co-workers, and slow employees. We grumble
about ineffective politicians, irresponsible athletes, and irritating
relatives. We feel that we have a God-given right to complain about anything
and some people complain about everything!
There are basically four types of
complainers. I’ll let you decide which one you are. Please, no elbowing the
person next to you as I delineate these types of complainers!
The Whiner!
These people wake up negative. You may be married to someone like this. A woman
went to work one day in a foul mood. Her co-worker asked her, “Did you wake up
grouchy this morning?”
“No, I let him sleep in.”
The catch phrase of whiners is “It’s not
fair. I don’t deserve this. Everyone else gets all the breaks.”
Those with school aged kids hear this
all the time and our response is, “Who said life is fair?!” Life is not fair.
God never said it would be.
The Martyr!
What is there favorite phrase? “No one appreciates me.” Read Numbers 11:11-15
if you would like to see a real pity plea as Moses laments to God about having
to lead the unruly Children of Israel.
These folks are pros at pity parties.
The martyr complains in a passive-aggressive fashion. Rather than just letting
you know they are annoyed or aggravated, they couch their complaints in pious
tones of self-sacrifice. They give and give, but no one appreciates them! No
one cares but them!
The Cynic!
Their favorite phrase is “nothing ever changes.” Ecclesiastes 1:2-4 would be
their favorite scripture: “Everything is meaningless!” Solomon was probably
thinking of picking up after his children when he penned those words!
The cynic has an air of superiority; an
intellectual edge to his complaining makes it hard to refute. A cynic is a
cross between Eeyore the cynical donkey of Winnie the Pooh fame and Jerry
Seinfeld the comedian who can find the most ridiculous and mundane things to
complain and rant about.
The Perfectionist!
Their favorite phrase is: “Is that
the best you can do?” Nothing is ever right for this person. It is never good
enough, because they have a standard you can never attain. Their complaints
wear you down. Maybe you had or have a parent like this. After a while it wears
you down doesn’t it? You come to a place that you no longer attempt to get
their approval because you know that it is an impossibility. If you have a
spouse who is a perfectionist, bless you!
If you are married to a perfectionist,
were raised by one, or work for one, you know that you will never satisfy them.
Their complaint and disapproval will never end! Many of us spent years trying
to get affirmation and approval from a parent or a spouse before we painfully
realized that they had none to give!
Before I go further, I want you to stop
looking at someone else to apply this message to. This is meant for you, not
someone else. It is meant for me. That is why I am preaching it! You may think
that you are not a complainer. All your gripes are justifiable; you have a gift
of discernment so your opinions need to be made known. Don’t start thinking
about who this sermon would be good for. Don’t ask Stacey for 50 copies to send
to selected people to straighten them out. Simply hear it in the love with
which it is presented. We all have this problem to some degree. All of us!
Complaining is opposed to our obedience.
We need to remember the context of our
text. Last week we were reminded of the necessity to work out what God has
worked in – that God commands us to work out our salvation with fear and
trembling. Paul is talking about obedience to God. That is how you “work out”
salvation!
Our passage begins with the all
inclusive, very difficult command: “do everything.” God commands that we cover
all the bases!
Complaining implies an impatient
criticism, an open, audible grumbling. Arguing in Greek is dialogismon, from which we get “dialogue.” For us a dialogue is a
neutral discussion, but in Greek it referred to haggling, confrontational,
litigation in a court. The focus here is the attitude of the heart. This is a
person who loves an argument.
The obedience that Paul calls for in
verse 14 is an obedience that is seen in action as well as in attitude.
It is like the little boy, about three
years old, who was standing in the pew during worship. He was told to sit down
by his dad. He refused. He was then promised a trip outside for an attitude
adjustment with dad’s belt. He reluctantly sat and added under his breath, “I
may be sitting down on the outside, but I’m standing up on the inside!”
Did he obey? Externally he conformed,
but the obedience was negated by the attitude. As aggravated parents, we often
settle for external behavior and ignore the heart, but God is very much
concerned with our heart. Scripture has a word for the person who is sitting
down on the outside but standing up on the inside: hypocrite.
Complaining is opposed to our calling.
Just as the Christian is to remove all criticism of others, so our lives must
not give anyone an excuse to criticize us.
Verse 15 gives a result of an obedient
life, free from complaining: they may become blameless and pure, that is, no
accusation can be entertained against them; they are sincere, without mixed
motives, the obedience is done not out of a sense of duty or obligation, but
out of genuine desire.
Not only that, those who obey without
complaint are called: “Children of God.” Paul is reminding us to behave in
light of our status. As those adopted by God’s grace, there is an expected
standard of behavior. The problem we face is that the culture in which we live
is crooked and perverse. We tend to get as crooked as the culture!
When you complain you complain against
God!
In the wilderness, when the people
complained against Moses and Aaron. Moses said, “God has heard your complaining
against Him.” Ultimately, any complaining in life is against the sovereign
authority of God Himself. When you incessantly complain about leaders in
government, your boss at work, your teacher, your parents, your child, your
pastor, you are complaining against God. If God is in control, then our gripe
is with Him!
When you complain you are sinning against
God. Complaining is not just a bad habit. The Bible doesn’t suggest we stop
complaining, it commands it. Complaining is equated with the sin of rebellion.
Psalm 78:17-18 calls the grumbling and complaining by the Hebrews in the
wilderness, sin and rebellion!
When we complain we rebel against a
loving Father. When we gripe about our job, when we grouse about our spouse, we
are shaking our fist at God’s provision and compassion. We are where God has
put us and even if we are in rebellion and not where God desires for us to be,
He can still use us where we are! He has our good in mind. Complaining is a
denial of our calling, of our status as His sons and daughters. When we
complain, we are claiming that we know better than God how things ought to be.
Instead of letting Him work through us in the present situation, we tell God
and the world, how bad things are!
When you complain, you won’t enter the
Promised Land. From the Red Sea to
Coach Jones, my high school football
coach, knew this principle. “If you don’t hustle, you have to run a lap. If you
gripe and grumble, take a lap. If you miss a block, take a lap. If you cause
the team to lose yardage, everyone takes a lap. If any of you complain about
the lap; take two laps!”
The Israelites would continue to grumble
and complain. God said, “Take another lap – see if you can get this right!”
Again and again they complained until God said, “Just die here in the desert –
a whole new generation will inherit the Promised Land!” This is how seriously
God takes complaining!
Have I made the point well enough? God
hates complaining! What is our calling since complaining is not a spiritual
gift?
We live in a day of unbelief; people are
in open rebellion against God. How do we know this? There is constant grumbling
and complaining. We are one of the most affluent nations on the earth but we
have a reputation as complainers. It is our pastime. We look for what is wrong
and tell everyone else about it.
Darkness has gripped our world because
people do not know the wonderful news that there is a Father who cares, who
directs and controls all things so that we might glorify Him. To this dark
world we are called, not to join on the harangue about failed government
leaders, not to bemoan the status of our public education, not to wag our
finger at Hollywood’s latest attack on the family, but to shine out and to
point the way!
Our light is not meant to be hidden
under a basket of a griping and complaining spirit; it is to be like a beacon
on the hillside that gives light and direction. That is what Jesus said! As a
minister, I can’t hold out the word of life, saying that God is in control, and
loving, and then constantly complain about my circumstances. It seems that
often the preaching from Baptist pulpits is to castigate the people for all
their failings; to basically confirm that we are a sinking ship and then we
have an invitation and ask people to join our sinking ship!
What do you complain about? A severe
financial problem, a marriage that is unfulfilling, poor health, rebellious
children, demanding adult parents, work frustration, maybe a church that
doesn’t meet your needs. Whatever it is, they are opportunities to worship the
Lord. It is easy to obey when you tell God what you are going to do. When all
is going well, we have few complaints. But when life is tough, when God
commands that which is hard, when you want to throw in the towel – that is when
you have a unique opportunity to respond to God, to worship Him.
What type of complainer are you; Martyr,
whiner, perfectionist or cynic? Or maybe you are a bit like me. I seem to be
able to be all four at the same time. What would happen in your life if all the
complaining stopped? What difference would it make in your home or at your job?
How would you look at your calling and worship at the church if you stopped
complaining and began shining?
You can do it! There is a cross on which
Jesus died and through His death and resurrection He gives us the spirit to
defeat complaining. It is your choice today,
“Whine or Shine!”