A heavy wagon was being dragged along a country lane by a team of oxen. The axles groaned and creaked terribly, when the oxen turning around thus addressed the wheels, “Hey there, why do you make so much noise? We bear all the labor, and we — not you — ought to cry out!” Those complain first in our churches who have the least to do. The gift of grumbling is largely dispensed among those who have no other talents, or who keep what they have wrapped up in a napkin (Charles Spurgeon)
Philippians 2:14 (AMP)
14 Do everything without murmuring or questioning [the providence of God],
To grumble; to complain; to utter complaints in a low, half articulated voice; to utter sullen discontent; with at, before the thing which is the cause of discontent;
Paul tells us to do everything without Murmuring or questioning the providence of God. Remember the two previous verses have been taking us in a particular direction. Verse 12 tells us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. We are to do our part not to impress others or because others are watching but because Christ has already done His work in our hearts and ours is to work it on the outside, basically to let our light shine. Verse 13 reminds us that even as we do this we should recognize and depend on God because apart from Him we can do nothing. He is the one who strengthens us to will and to do. God will not demand of us what He has not already enabled us to do.
Now what we have to recognize is that the circumstances or the environment will not always be right. Many times we will face challenges that will seem to derail us from what we are called to do. It is in these moments that Paul tells us DO NOT MURMUR!! Keep doing and keep believing that God will provide, do not complain. Complaining will get you off track; it will open up your heart to unbelief and doubt. Complaining will harden your heart and like the children of Israel it will cause you to look back and desire the things of Egypt. Complaining will cause you not to enter your promised land.
We complain about the church and we forget we are the church and not the building
We complain about our pastor and yet we keep going to the same church. If your pastor is so bad why do you keep going there?
We complain about how things are done or about things that are not done in church yet we don’t offer up ourselves to serve.
We complain about giving and how the church spends its money yet usually the complainers give the least.
We complain about our leaders yet we are the ones who vote them in.
Do everything without murmuring. Idle people are usually the loudest complainers.
As someone once said, “Those who complain about how the ball bounces are usually the ones who dropped the ball” Or Will Bowen who said “Complaining is like bad breath, you notice it when it comes out of somebody else’s mouth, but not your own.”
