Do you find yourself complaining about complaining? Are you a grouchy grumbling fault finding whining belly-aching person? Has anyone ever told you to check your attitude?

When you think about it, is the stuff you are complaining about really that serious?

I remember a time when internal complaining was an everyday thing. Then one day amid my internal complaining I audibly heard...” Do all things without grumbling or disputing” (Philippians 2:14).

Ouch!!!!

In my mind I thought wow was I complaining that much? And the answer was yes.

Like a deadly chemical, complaining eats away at whatever it splashes on. Complaining corrodes joy and dissolves good attitudes. Spiritually, complaining is dangerous and deadly.

The Hebrew word for complain is, ana. Ana means to “habitually sigh.” When we complain, murmur, or grumble we are “sighing,” it is like releasing air from a tire. All forward progress can be stopped if enough “air” is released. A car cannot move forward if too much air has been released from the tire. Hence, similarly we cannot move forward if we are constantly “sighing” releasing much needed air.

If you have a problem with complaining and grumbling, you are not alone. The Old Testament book of Numbers could easily be renamed The Grumbling Chronicles. The children of Israel grumbled against Moses, Aaron, and God (Numbers 14:2).

In the New Testament the Greek word memps means “finding fault with one’s lot.” Do you ever feel that your circumstances just are not fair like the children of Israel? Do you ever find fault with what God is doing in your life, like the children of Israel?

The children of Israel believed their complaining and grumbling was justifiable (Exodus 16:3).

But the complaining of the children of Israel were not trivial, and God did not view them lightly. Why? Because they were complaining about the provisions and the will of God. God’s daily supernatural provision and guidance was criticized and rejected by ungrateful people(Exodus 16:1-17:7).

Complaining causes a loss of perspective resulting in a failure to remember Who is in control.

Jude 16 tells us that complaining germinates a selfish heart. “These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts”—in other words a person who is dissatisfied with their lot in life.

The Israelites’ complaining and grumbling was symptomatic of a far more fatal disease—unbelief—a lack of faith that God knew what He was doing.

Did you realize your complaining was a heart issue that is rooted in unbelief?

When you find yourself complaining remember the following points:

1. Complaining is dangerous: Complaining causes us to take focus off God’s plan thus giving room to become trapped by the snare of the enemy. For many of us that snare is the temptation to complain and grumble against God (1 Corinthians 10:13, Numbers 11:1).

2. God knows what He is doing: Joseph was thrown into a pit (Genesis 37:24), Job lost everything (Job 1:13-22), a woman had an issue of blood for 12 years (Luke 8:43-48). Now what was the secret to their complaint free life? They all grasped the truth that God is in control (Proverbs 15:3) and that He knows what He is doing and why He is doing it.

3. Give thanks in all things: God wants us to see Him amid any circumstance—trusting Him without having all the details (Proverbs 3:5-7). Unbelief occurs when we fail to give thanks in all things (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

The best way to check our attitude is not to ask whether it is good or bad, but whether we are thinking like Christ or like ourselves. We must have the same attitude that Jesus Christ had.

^“ Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:⁶ Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:⁷ But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:⁸ And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:5-8).

Jesus approached life with a humble attitude, putting obedience to God first and serving others.

The beautiful thing is when we want to complain, God wants us to tell Him all about it. You will be amazed at what that simple conversation with God can do to our attitude. God’s perspective is always better. The more we view life from God’s perspective the more our attitude start to look like Jesus.’

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I need Your help. I need an attitude check in several areas of my life. Please forgive me for not keeping my eyes on You and trusting You know what is best for my life. Holy spirit reveal to me what needs to be changed and give me the strength to make that change. I desire to have an attitude reflective of Jesus Christ. Father, I pray for discipline and wisdom. Thank You, Father for Your patience, love, and mercy. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

PEARLStoPONDER: Our attitudes color our whole personality. We cannot choose what happens to us, but we can choose our attitude towards the situation. Checking our attitude is crucial because attitude can transform anything and everything. What does your attitude reflect?