November 4th Devotion

Living a Life Without Complaining
By Vivian Bricker 

“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.’ Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky” (Philippians 2:14-15).

As humans, we tend to complain more often than not. The other day I was silently complaining because the internet was not running as fast as I wanted it to be. I was trying to find specific Bible verses and the Internet decided to freeze up on me. In a short period of time (a matter of milliseconds), I managed to become restless and I complained about how “slow” the Internet was moving.

I paused and then I thought it was quite ironic as to how I was searching Bible verses on patience while I myself was being anything except patient. This moment of complaining taught me a vital lesson—I need to slow down, choose not to complain, and be patient. The Bible verses did eventually load, I just had to wait a few extra milliseconds longer than normal.

Similar to how I complained about the slow internet, many of us complain over frivolous things. These things do not truly matter when we look at the grand spectrum of things. Slow Internet, a delay in traffic, or a forgotten assignment is not going to be the end of the world. This is why we must stop fretting over small things and choose to live our lives separated from a heart of complaining.

Complaining does not normally bring about the beautiful life that God wants for us. The life God has in store for us is one of peace, love, and thankfulness. The exact opposite of complaining is thankfulness. The Bible repeatedly encourages us to be thankful as it tells us, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful” (Colossians 3:15).

Rather than complaining, we need to rejoice and be thankful for all we have. In my case, I need to rejoice and be thankful that I have a job, Internet connection, and a computer to work from. Think about what things you can change in order to turn your complaint into praise and a reason to be thankful. By changing our prone-to-complaining hearts into hearts of thankfulness, we will be able to truly serve the Lord and bring Him glory.

Intersecting Faith & Life:
Paul tells us in Philippians 2:14-15 that we must do everything without grumbling or arguing in order for us to be pure, children of God without fault in this present wrapped and crooked generation. Within the concept of grumbling and arguing, complaining can also be used as a synonym for grumbling. Depending on the version you use, it will either say grumbling or complaining.

In order to shine like stars in this warped and crooked generation, we have to let go of the habit of complaining and arguing. There is no way for us to shine as stars if we are behaving in the same way as the present generation. In order to shine as glistening stars, we have to stand out from the rest of the world, and this can only be done by living for Jesus.

Living for Jesus means we follow His teachings and commands. Instead of complaining and arguing, we give thanks, rejoice, and be at peace with others. In our Christian walk, there is no room for complaining or arguing anymore. We need to repent and turn away from these practices. From the moment we do this, we can truly shine as beautiful stars in the sky. In this way, we will be able to help others see the love of Christ.