Grumbling

In the evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against him. [...] Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord.”
-Exodus 16:6-7, 8b

I want to tell you about my friend Miguel. 
Miguel is in charge of facilities at the school that our church has met at for many years. I'm at the school regularly during the week grabbing things from our storage closet or something, and Miguel is one of the people I look forward to seeing the most when I'm there. He's in his sixties and the guy is simply a joy to interact with. 
Every time I see Miguel, I ask him how he's doing. And every time he gives me this response:

"I'm doing well, and getting better every day!!" 

Originally I thought it was a fun response, but I didn't really believe him. But now I've encountered him enough times to start to think he really is doing better each time I see him. I don't think it's simply optimism. I think it's maturity. Miguel has a spirit that sees life as a gift. 

I think this is striking to me because I can be a highly skilled grumbler.

So when I encountered a well-known story from Exodus this week, I was struck by a statement that Moses makes. It's the first real story that we're given after God liberates the people of Israel from centuries of slavery at the hands of the Egyptians. They are now living free as nomads in the desert, working toward a land where they could eventually settle. It's not cushy, and they have legitimate needs. But their latest habit has become constantly telling Moses and Aaron that they aren't happy with their desert circumstances, even though God has provided for them at each moment so far. 

Moses tells them that God hears, and will continue to meet and care for them. But he chastises them a bit, saying that their "grumbling is not against us, but against the LORD." You know, the same Lord that, uh, just freed them from slavery. 

So I started thinking about the grumbling and complaining that we do. 
There are a million things each day that can make us complain. The weather is too hot or too cold. We never have enough... time, money, energy, etc. If the Eagles lose even one game this season (they will), you can bet that I'll be complaining that they are undisciplined and letting us fans down (go birds). And don't even get me started about the choices being made by those in power.

It's easy for us to spend a lot of time grumbling about something or another. I mean, much of it feels completely valid, and I truly just want all of my situations and relationships to be ideal, all the time. Is that too much to ask? 

Now grumbling is different than lament. It's different than honestly voicing pain. It's different than naming harm and speaking truth to power. Those all have a place. 

Grumbling is when we start habitually spending our time talking about how discontent we are. And I wonder, in those moments when we are voicing (often petty) annoyance at our circumstances... Perhaps we're actually grumbling against the Lord more than we realize? Eek. 

I grumble when I stop being thankful for the miracle which has already begun. God has given me life! God has given us hands and minds and energy to work for good in the world! God has given us grace and relationship. If we delight in God, if we are captured by God's kingdom.... will it not change how we speak about present realities? Will it not fill us with faith that our momentary discomforts are not the end of the story? Will it not heal us and make us healers? 

In Philippians 2, Paul challenges the first generation of Christ followers to live without grumbling... so that they would be children of God. He goes on to say that this attitude would help them shine like stars in the midst of a society that has lost its way. 

That's why Miguel is such a bright inspiration to me. I'm working on being less of a grumbler, knowing how little it accomplishes. I want to own the fact that a lot of my complaining has actually been "grumbling against God," who is faithful forever. I want to live deeply in the spirit of Christ, and serve with joy. I want to see the beauty of each moment, and realize that when I walk in relationship with Jesus, I'm "getting better every day," even on the days that feel hard. Let's keep working at it and see how it transforms our days. 

Jesus, today I am thankful. 
 
Peace,
Keith