10-2-2019 – A Word to the Wise – Often we find things to complain about; the weather, food, leaders, followers, black, white, yellow, government, male, female. The list of complaints goes on endlessly. We do it almost unconsciously, yea even habitually. I suspect that grumbling is a habit just as bad as heroin, meth, cigarettes, anxiety, or sleep apnea.
The Bible calls this problem by several terms: grumbling, complaining, malice, slander. I like how Moses refers to it simply: “And the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes”. (RSV)
It seems to me the more we have the more we complain, and the less we have the more gratitude we experience. This is true of Israel in Moses day, and just as relevant in our day. Scripture, old or new condemns such practices. Whether it’s Moses in Numbers 11:1, or Jesus brother, James, in James 4:11, or even the one chapter of Jude, verse 16.
The only way I know to turn aside this trash talk is to praise perhaps the Eternal Father, Christ Jesus, perhaps the Holy Spirit, and even on occasion our fellow man. Expressions of praise and gratitude ought to pass our lips daily, hourly, and even perhaps minute by minute.
Christian Family Services Ministry 
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