“The whole Israelite community complained against Moses and Aaron in
the desert.
‘Who are we? Your complaints aren’t against us but against the
Lord.’”
Frederick Douglas wrote, “Man’s
greatness consists in his ability to do and the proper application of his
powers to things needful to be done.” What Douglas speaks of may be called the
claim of positive action – the decision to meet all circumstances not with a
negative spirit, but with a positive mind and a useful response. When we meet
disruptions in life, little inconveniences and seeming disorder of daily
rhythms, it is good to remind ourselves that complaining doesn’t improve the
situation. What complaining does accomplish is damage – damage to us and to
those who must hear our complaints.
This damage is seen in the people
of Israel. After leaving their captivity in Egypt, life along their journey
through the wilderness becomes difficult. Food is scarce, as is water, and the
people complained about the hot days and the cold nights. Their whimpering and
complaining eventually became directed against their magnificent leader, Moses,
who had faced Pharaoh squarely on their behalf, and secured their release from
slavery. Memory of a difficult, even cruel, life in Egypt as slaves faded as
they exaggerated the comforts they once enjoyed under Pharaoh. Under the cloud
of complaining, their future as a free people grew dim. The great vision of liberty was surrendered
to a past not rightly seen.
To this miserable and confused
state Moses said, “Your complaints aren’t against us but against the Lord.” Now
that is insight worthy of our best reflection! Often complaints arise from a
sense that we have been treated unfairly or a belief that life has been
unreasonably difficult. Someone or some circumstance is the blame for a life
that is less than what we might have. But tell us that our complaint is against
God and we may be forced to consider that God never really promised the ease we
feel entitled to. Perhaps, God has placed each of us into a world where there
are heavy loads to bear and difficulties that demand our best energies, both
mind and body. Some reading this may remember the song lyric of decades ago, “I
never promised you a rose garden.” God didn’t.
Complaining doesn’t solve
anything. And most agree that complaining is a sign of mental and moral
immaturity. Complaining brings nothing of value to the table of life. But
complaining does exact a heavy cost. It diminishes a clear view of the presence
and activity of God in our lives and it sends friends and acquaintances running
– in the opposite direction. What remains is to develop a mental attitude that
says, “This is the way things are right now. Where can I see God in this? And
what positive response can I make?” It is this new mindset that finally moved
Israel out of the desert and into God’s promised land.
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