Complaint Department

97/365

At work, I have the honor of sitting in a 9x9 cubical. While it may not sound like the life of luxury, I have come to make it my own. On the back wall, I have pinned up Twilight posters. Directly in front of my monitor are pictures of my Chihuahua, Nemo. To the side are pictures from my wedding and a small lamp that reminds me of my dad’s office growing up.

While I have made every effort to enjoy my workspace, there is one persisting problem: My cube mate. Man alive this girl complains! She hates her coworkers and is not shy about expressing that emotion. She loathes her job and always has. Frankly, I am pretty sure that she just hates life. I can hear her constant complaining over my running iPod. Her attitude drowns out my music, drowns out my good mood and, really, just makes me want to move to the other side of the building!

Numbers 11:1
“Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused.” - NIV

The definition of a complaint is the expression of dissatisfaction or discontentment. By the sheer act alone, we are expressing our unhappiness at the current circumstance or situation. We are unhappy at how God is managing our life and our condition. Complaining brings outward the grief from within and proves that we are, in fact, bitter.

How does our Heavenly Father react towards our complaining? The Old Testament reveals that God considers the act of complaining confirmation of distrust. The Israelites made a name for themselves as complainers, they never ceased. The act of grumbling became who they were. Let us ask ourselves: Is that what we want to be know for?

Paul urges Christians to do all things without complaining. The letter of Jude places Christian complainers in the same category as ungodly sinners. Non-believers are filled with complaints day in and day out, but this is not a lifestyle for Christians. Believers are to always act out of faith, having confidence that our Lord will provide and protect.

I will not be as those who spend the day in complaining of headache, and the night in drinking the wine that gives it. ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe