Complainers

My son has duly chastised me for not blogging more regularly on this blog.  I told him I was keeping up with my other one on the church website, but that didn’t seem to matter.  I told him to “stay tuned,” so this is the response to that.

It’s been a busy three weeks or so since I’ve last blogged.  The rain has gone.  The heat (although not as high as the last two years) is here.  The blocking high pressure that normally sets up over Kansas in late June or July has now set up in mid-August.  So we’re back to watering and sweltering.  But this time the end is in sight because September is just around the corner.

We’ve been able to enjoy a little fruit of the garden.  We planted everything late, so things are just now getting going.  Tomatoes are ripening, and I’ve picked a couple of cantaloupe.  Onions are harvested (some time ago), and watermelon is on the vine.  If I can keep the critters (read that raccoons and opossums) out of the garden area, we’ll do fine.

We both are busy at work.  With the wife’s new job (at the same employer), she works more hours each day.  And I’m busy getting ready for fall Bible classes, the re-start of Life Groups, and several other things into which I’ve inserted myself by not saying, “No.”

Now that you’ve caught up a little on our lives, I’ll briefly get to the heart of what I’d like to say today.  Never, ever allow yourself to get into a complaining or whiny mood…it’s not worth it.  If you just knew all of the blessings that have and continue to come your way, any complaining seems petty and small.

We are complainers by nature.  I don’t know if it’s the western culture, or whether it is something we are born with.  But I do know that complaining is not a sign of maturity.  It is not a sign of contentment.  It is not a sign of a well-balanced life.  It is a sign of selfishness.  It is a sign of immaturity.  It is a sign of ignorance.

I know it’s hard to NOT complain when the traffic lights all seem to turn red when you’re about 200 feet away.  I know it’s hard to NOT complain when something on the car breaks down.  I know it’s hard to NOT complain when someone treats you with less than human dignity and respect.  And maybe that’s one reason why it seems so many folks complain…it’s the easy way out and it takes the responsibility off of the complainer and puts it on the complainee.

Think about it next time you are tempted to think or utter complaining thoughts.  Live in contentment.  Live in peace.  And live in the glow of the One who created you.