My first thought was that pride is often at the root, rearing its ugly head in the root of most sin. Pride begins before we have full awareness of who we are, and grows as a "survival" tool of independence. We ride an unharnessed wave of pride through our lives until the point of our salvation when we are given the opportunity to live life through submission to the Lord through Jesus our savior. But pride, so deeply ingrained in the core of our being, follows us through life, a silent back-up plan when faith doesn't seem to be enough for us. My pride often gets the best of my resolve when my identity and group standing are most threatened. Keeping Proverbs 16:18 in mind, I pray that in recognizing the ultimate failure of a prideful struggle, I will rely on Him for my identify and worth which on their own, extracted from my lack of faith and fear of being less, can only lead to disappointment and failure. To God be the glory for in Him I will know much greater things than I can know in myself.
Grumbling and complaining seem to correlate with inactivity and expectations without personal investment in a personal relationship with God. Although I know of no one who is totally free of complaining, I do see that those who have the loudest complaints seem to be those who are least invested in ministry and service. Truly, those who are serving have first-hand issues to complain about, but it is the armchair servants that seem to have the loudest voices. Many will complain that there are no opportunities to serve and will profess their desire to "move and shake" the community for Jesus, but are nowhere to be seen when opportunities arise. At the core of most successful movers and shakers is an idea given birth by prayer and a mature relationship with God carefully hewn through study and fellowship. These are the folks who through their faithful relationship to God, have great ideas that develop legs quickly and become a reality because they see the doors open for that idea through their intimate relationship with the Father. The complainers will blame the ministry staff for not developing and financing programs of the church and old-timers in the church will reflect on glory days but fail to commit their discontent with changing times to the Lord. Through stagnant, stalled relationships with God, the motivation to get things done is dampened by prideful ambition and a critical spirit, and the doors that lead to realized accomplishment remain invisible.
Worse yet is when those who complain the loudest without that deep godly relationship to back them up become engaged with new believers who stand on the threshold of their new relationship with God. Easily swayed and not yet invested in the fruit of that godly relationship, these new believers become the new generation of grumblers and complainers and many become disillusioned, disenfranchised and wander off to search for the "truth." The church loses new believers and potential servants, and those new believers may never see the fruit of their salvation as it becomes deeply entrenched in the cloudy gloom of complaints. Under the cloud, the truth may be lost to them forever.
Lord, help me keep my eyes and my heart fixed on you. Let the light of Your glory illuminate my path and lead me to the goals you set for me. Help me seek out Your voice every day in all situations and keep me from stumbling or wandering off on my own. Protect me from my own thoughts and my own tongue, and keep me out of the reach of other's complaints. Raise up strong leaders and disciplers in our church who will teach the value of an intimate relationship with You. Take all of us airchair complainers, forgive us and raise us up to your standards. I love you, Lord, and want to be a humble, hardworking servant for you. Take my life, Lord, and use it for your kingdom.
