My Beloved and I are at that
age now when we read the obituaries each day. It’s all too often that someone
we’ve known has passed on. It’s good to see that many people are now living
into their 90s, some even beyond that. The years are longer and so
are the eulogies. From what I
read and hear, some of those folks would have been a joy to know. But I often wonder when someone makes a comment that they never
heard him or her complain. I often wonder--why not?
Perhaps they mean the type
of complaining that the Jews did in biblical history when they rebelled again
and again against God. Or maybe it’s the complaining we’re admonished against
in Philippians 2:14, which is more
often translated as grumbling, which could be grumbling against God, against our family
or friends, or at the sales clerk. Complaining or grumbling is often linked with disputing in scripture. And, of course, the scribes and Pharisees
complained about Jesus and disputed with him.
But what about the man after
God’s own heart—King David. He wrote in Psalm 142:1-2—“I cry aloud with my
voice to the LORD; I make supplication with my voice to the LORD. I pour out my
complaint before Him; I declare my trouble before Him.” And there are other
such Psalms that speak of a very troubled, complaining heart. Most of us have complaints. It
is well that we take them to God.
But how are we to “encourage
the fainthearted” (1 Thess.:1:4) if they don’t 'complain'? How are
we to know they are troubled or about to give up or are depressed and
everything is sad? Why are they not ‘complaining’ to us? Do they feel like they
won’t be heard? Do they feel like they would be viewed as unspiritual or as a burden? What would we think of them? How can we
bear someone's burdens if they don’t ‘complain’ about them?
Lest you think I’m condoning
complaining about not getting our own way, or not having what we want, or shaking our fist at God, I’m not
in the least. Perhaps I’m taking issue with the word ‘complain.’ Perhaps there
are those who are angels among us. And I do believe there could be…and they don’t
complain. My point is that we need to hear and bear one another's burdens. We
need to share our own burdens with those who love us and not be stoic with one
another. We are instruments in the
hands of the Redeemer to encourage one
another, to help one another see God and His ways in our trouble, and to help the disposition of the heart become calm and contented.
I’ve been reading The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment
by Jeremiah Burroughs (1559-1646). I think he agrees.
“Though a Christian ought to
be quiet under God’s correcting hand, he may without any breach to Christian
contentment complain to God. As one of the Ancients says, though not with a
tumultuous clamour and shrieking out in a confused passion, yet in a still,
quiet, submissive way, he may unbosom his heart to God. Likewise he may communicate
his sad condition to his Christian friends, showing them how God has dealt with
him and how heavy the affliction is upon him, that they may speak a word in
season to his weary soul.”
We urge you, brethren,
admonish the unruly,
encourage the fainthearted,
help the weak,
be patient with
everyone.
(1 Thessalonians 5:14)
Painting~By the Way, Daniel Ridgeway Knigh
Wiki Commons public domain
