Complaining About God and Others - Psalms 87-88 and Romans 13
Most of us are very good at complaining. It is an easy thing to do, but the Bible tells us that we are to do all things without murmuring and complaining. Therefore, we need to stop complaining, especially complaining about God. In Psalm 88 the psalmist is singing the blues. I am not sure about the source of the problems, but he is very upset with God and life. When we feel that way there is nothing wrong with telling God that is how we feel. God can handle it, and He can and will help us to feel better when we take our cares to Him. However, in the end He will tell us not to complain. Complaining is a result of misunderstanding God or not trusting God. There is always a way to point out the truth or to correct someone that is not complaining. That is what God wants us to do. I like Psalm 87, because the psalmist makes a positive observation about the blessing of being born in Zion, or in Jerusalem. He is thanking God for the advantages of being born in the city of God with God's people. As Christians we can thank God that we are born from above. We are born as citizens of the heavenly Zion, and that is the greatest blessing. When we realize that we are citizens of God's kingdom, we really don't have anything to complain about anyway, do we?
Many people love to complain about the government. Romans 13 begins with God's explanation as to why we should not complain about the government. We should pray for our officials and obey the laws. If we do God's will, we will seldom have trouble with the government, and if we do, God will be with us. What we need to do instead of complaining is to love each other and to realize our time on earth is short. Do we really want to come to the end of our lives and be known as complainers? I hope not. I pray that people will know us a positive believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that we will trust Him so much that we will not need to complain about things, but be content in Him to live peaceable and quiet lives, serving Him until He takes us home. One of the greatest testimonies I have ever heard about a person is that he or she never said anything negative about another person. They were not a complainer. They were not tearing down but building up. I pray that can be said about us.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 89-90 and Romans 14.
Many people love to complain about the government. Romans 13 begins with God's explanation as to why we should not complain about the government. We should pray for our officials and obey the laws. If we do God's will, we will seldom have trouble with the government, and if we do, God will be with us. What we need to do instead of complaining is to love each other and to realize our time on earth is short. Do we really want to come to the end of our lives and be known as complainers? I hope not. I pray that people will know us a positive believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that we will trust Him so much that we will not need to complain about things, but be content in Him to live peaceable and quiet lives, serving Him until He takes us home. One of the greatest testimonies I have ever heard about a person is that he or she never said anything negative about another person. They were not a complainer. They were not tearing down but building up. I pray that can be said about us.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 89-90 and Romans 14.