Declaring War On Ungratefulness & Grumbling
By: Pastor Francis Frangipane
Last week we learned that, when Jesus referred to Judas Iscariot as a "devil," He actually was referring to the generic, impersonal definition of the word, "diabolos," which meant "slanderer" or "maliciously gossip." Judas evidently could not keep his negative perspective to himself.
Indeed, it isn't hard to imagine that, before Judas betrayed Christ, he expressed many criticisms of Jesus to the Pharisees; the final offense being that Jesus allowed a very expensive ointment to be poured upon His hair. "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii, and given to
poor people?" Judas asked indignantly (Jn 12:5-6). His attitude actually led a minor insurrection toward Jesus, causing indignation among the other apostles as well (Matt 27:7). Who permitted this thoughtless luxury? Jesus. Who reaped its immediate benefits? Again, Jesus. And His defense of
this extravagant act, in Judas' critical mind, was the last straw.
Betrayal is never a sudden thing; rather, it is an accumulative response to the unresolved anger and disappointment one feels toward another. The offenses we do not transfer to God in surrendered prayer inevitably decay and become a poison within our spirits; that poison is then transferred to others through gossip. In the process, we embrace slander, but we feel
justified. We become malicious gossips, but in our minds we're only communicating a "truth," a character flaw, that no one else sees.
To understand the betrayal of Christ, however, we must descend into its source: a grumbling spirit. When we lose sight of the many things for which we should be thankful, we become murmurers and grumblers, increasingly absorbed with a thought-life born in hell. Beware when your anger toward another Christian has led you to gossip about him, especially if he's church leader. Yes, beware: for you are no longer being conformed to Christ, but to the one who delivered Him up.
A Problem With Grumbling
Of course, this grumbling attitude was not isolated to Judas. Many would-be disciples and Jewish leaders were also infected with it. Consider: there were miracles everywhere and Christ has just fed the 5000, yet a large crowd began to find fault.
"Do not grumble among yourselves," Jesus warned (Jn 6:43). Yet, they persisted. Remember, these were not just people who did not know Christ, but His very disciples, and they were not grumbling at a sinner, but the only sinless man who ever lived. Again, we read, "But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this," asked, "Does this cause you to stumble?" (Jn 6:61). Yet, still the grumbling spirit continued until "...many of His disciples withdrew, and were not walking with Him anymore"
(John 6:66).
Grumbling caused people to stop seeing miracles, become offended by Christ's words, and stop walking with Him. As it was then, so it is today. Grumbling will ultimately cause you to stop walking with Jesus. It is a killer. Incredibly, the early disciples (not just the Pharisees) found fault with the Son of God. They had heaven in their midst and couldn't see
it. That's what a grumbling attitude can do.
This poison is prevalent in the church today. I tell you plainly: God doesn't want a grumbling people to represent Him on earth. If we are habitually gossiping, grumbling or complaining, we should beware: the path we are on leads away from Christ.
The Thankful Heart
Personally, I've declared war on grumbling. I've declared an unthankful heart is an enemy to God's will. Can you join me with this? Can you crucify a murmuring spirit? We have received too much from God to allow ourselves opportunities for unbelief. We have received too many gifts and privileges to allow a grumbling, murmuring heart to disqualify us of our destiny.
In contrast, the thankful heart sees the best part of every situation. It
sees problems and weaknesses as opportunities, struggles as refining
tools, and sinners as saints in progress. My prayer, dear ones, is for
each of us to possess the abundant life that Jesus came to give us. I want
to wrestle that little, ugly grumbling thing off of your soul and put a
living awareness the goodness of God in its place!
The very quality of our lives decays as we murmur. Paul warned,"Nor let us
. . . grumble, as [Israel] did, and were destroyed by the destroyer" (1
Cor. 10:9,10). Every time we open ourselves to grumbling, our lives open
up to destruction.
Again, Paul wrote, "...whatever is true, whatever is honorable...is right,
whatever is pure...lovely...of good repute, if there is any excellence and
if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things" (Phil
4:8).
If your mind is fixed on something other than the wonderful life of God,
it's not "fixed," it's broken. God wants to give us a new attitude. You
say, "Who's going to take care of finding all the things that are wrong?"
Oh, there are plenty of volunteers for that. Better to ask, "How can I
attain the blessed life Jesus came to give me?"
A Blessed Family And Future
We must learn to be thankful for the people God has given us. Some of you
cannot communicate with your loved ones. Why? Many issues enter your mind
as probable causes. However, part of the reason is that we are
unappreciative of them. You see, just as God requires we "enter His gates
with thanksgiving," so we gain access and the "right to speak" into the
hearts of our loved ones through genuinely appreciating the good things we
see within them.
For example, if you're not thankful for your teenagers, your
disappointment with them will ultimately drive them from you. Take time
with them and sincerely communicate the things you appreciate about them.
There are many good things about them that they need to hear you
acknowledge. I am not saying we shouldn't correct our kids, but that we
must balance correction with appreciation and praise, reinforcing their
sense of self worth and value.
Because God has created us to be social creatures, we are born with an
inner desire for acceptance. In fact, we desire acceptance more than we
seek for righteousness. By appreciating our loved ones, we affirm and
settle the search for acceptance that compels them toward ungodly
associations. Just as when property "appreciates" it increases in value,
so when we appreciate our loved ones, destructive tendencies created by
self-hatred and fear of rejection are removed. We inspire them to become
better, not by continually harping on what's wrong with them, but clearly
appreciating and establishing what is right.
There's something like radar inside the human heart that senses the
displeasure of others. Displeasure and ingratitude are like a repellant to
human relationships. People think, "If I can't measure up, if you can't
see anything good in me, I'll go where people will accept me as I am."
Thanksgiving brings our loved ones closer to us rather than driving them
away.
So tell your loved ones you appreciate them. Personally, I am utterly
thankful to God for my wife and her love and support. Likewise, I thank
God for my children, for this church and my staff. However, I know people
in marriages that, every time they get together, they discuss what's wrong
with their relationship. Why not stop talking about it and just do what's
right? Do you understand? Its like spraying one another with "relationship repellant." Thanksgiving, on the other hand, is the doorway to oneness.
Truly, we ought to be the happiest, most joyful, earth-shaking individuals the world has ever seen. God is for us. He's written our names in the Book of Life. That alone is more than enough to make us invincibly thankful, happy, glad and joyful.
Some of you have been gossiping and grumbling. It's time for a fast. From what? From grumbling. For the next thirty days, each time you would have complained, find something for which to be thankful. Make lists of people and things that you are thankful to God for. Let's put an end to grumbling and complaining and become a people who possess the wonderful life of God!
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This article is used by permission from Pastor Francis Frangipane.
May not publish articles or poems without written consent from author.
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