THE COMPLAINING TONGUE

The Complaining Tongue

I cry aloud with my voice to the LORD;

I make supplication with my voice to the LORD.

I pour out my complaint before Him;

I declare my trouble before Him.

Psalm 142:1-2




The five daughters of Zelophehad had a problem.

Their father had died in the wilderness before the

Israelites came into the Promised Land. Zelophehad

did not have any sons to inherit his portion of the

land, and the law did not provide for women to

receive the son’s portion instead. Consequently, his

daughters, not having a father, brother, husband, son, or any other man in their immediate family, were left out completely. Rather than complaining to others, they called a “congressional hearing” (Numbers 27) and presented their petition for an inheritance to Moses and the leaders. When Moses took their case to God, He agreed with the women and granted their request. Now, what do you think the outcome would have been had they simply whined to anyone in the multitude who would listen rather than bringing it to those in authority? I doubt they would have obtained their inheritance.




A legitimate complaint can only be resolved if you

direct it to the one who can change your situation.

Only a few people who are dissatisfied, annoyed, or

upset by an experience actually take steps to officially complain about it. They prefer to waste time soliciting others to commiserate with them. What an

exercise in futility. Not only could their input to the

right person improve things for them but for others

as well. For example, on several occasions I find

myself in a store where the line is growing longer by

the minute. Rather than joining the other customers

who are whining about the situation, I seek out

(sometimes yell for) the store manager and ask him

to open another register. Most of the time this works.




The psalmist in the opening Scripture of this

chapter did not bore, frustrate, or waste the time of

others with his complaints. He declares,“I pour out

my complaint before Him,” the one who could bring

change.




Notwithstanding, even God tires of constant

complaints.




Someone once said,“To swear is wicked because

it is taking God’s name in vain. To murmur is like-

wise wicked, for it takes God’s promises in vain.”

During your tongue fast, become aware of how often

you complain about nonessential matters such as a

rainy day, traffic jams, boring television programs,

lazy coworkers, and so on.




Because complaining is contagious, this is a hard

mouth malady to cure. In the past I have found

myself joining in with complaining wives just to have

something in common with them, even though my

husband was not guilty of the things about which

they complained. I knew I risked envy and alienation

if I confessed to what a wonderful, supportive man

he is. Sometimes I would try to search for something

to whine about and would come up with something

as shallow as the fact that he eats several times a day.




The man maintains a proper weight and makes his

own food most of the time! What is there to complain about except that I resent his metabolism?

If you are a complainer, you must start to resist

the constant “ain’t it awful” party. Trust me, others

will be glad you did and will stop dreading conver-

sations with you. This is not to say you shouldn’t seek an occasional sympathetic ear or wise counsel from a valued source. However, if you are going to ignore their advice and continue to rehearse the problem each time you converse, beware. Thy listener shall soon become weary of thee! Whenever you feel a complaint coming on, replace it with a statement of gratitude or a declaration of a Scripture you have personalized.




Today’s Affirmation:

Because God works all things together

for my good, according to His purpose

for my life, I will not complain.