Whining or Worshiping?

“Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure children of God, without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” (Philippians 2:14-15)

Observation: A complaining spirit infects our everyday environment. At work, at home, on social media, it can be contagious. Your candidate doesn’t win the election, so you blame the other party for all of society’s woes. Your team doesn’t win the tournament, and the referees were biased or the coach was incompetent. Your kids don’t clean up after themselves. Your husband is insensitive. Your job is too demanding and the pay isn’t fair. Your lunch wasn’t prepared correctly. The winter was too long, but then the heat of summer comes too soon. My guess is that while reading these examples, you found yourself easily agreeing, maybe even jumping to your own list of complaints!
Even God’s people can easily slip into a complaining attitude, because, after all, it’s not really a sin, is it? Complaining sure seems relatively harmless compared to murder, adultery, or theft. Grumbling now and then doesn’t affect others like lying or jealousy.
But what we complain about reveals what really matters to us. Our grumbling has a way of exposing where our hearts are centered. Whining, in many ways, is the polar opposite of worshiping our Lord. Worship is when we glorify God for who He is and acknowledge what He has done for us, but whining is ignoring who God is and forgetting what He has done for us.
So, Paul says, in effect, You want to be blameless? You want to live a pure life? You want your life to shine like a bright star on a cloudless night? Then don’t grumble. Don’t argue or complain. Instead of whining, try worshiping.

DENYING TODAY
You won’t be able to do this without God’s help, but just for today, make this commitment: As a follower of Jesus, do everything without grumbling or complaining. When you are tempted to whine, turn it into a moment of worship. When tempted to complain, respond instead with thanksgiving. Read a psalm, pray a prayer, turn up the worship music, and thank God for all that He has already done for you. (For a further challenge, try this for a week. Enlist a few close friends or family members to try it with you and hold you accountable.)