Bible Class: Lesson 34

Complaining may lead to murmuring

The negative report and complaining of the ten men who visited and surveyed the Promised Land, led to Israel murmuring. The negative things we say can influence people.

• Numbers 13:32-33
  And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”
• Numbers 14:1-3
  That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?”

Dealing with murmuring, grumbling, complaining, criticizing, arguing and disagreeing
Christians are human beings. They have different personalities and may deal with things in different ways. We will face murmuring, grumbling, complaining, criticism, arguments and disagreements. These things can impact and affect us. Some may choose to respond, retaliate, ignore, lash out or have patience. Every situation is different. Each response may have a different reaction. How do we choose the best and appropriate response? How do we apply the words and wisdom of Solomon in these situations? How do we handle these things?

• Ecclesiastes 3:1-7
  There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak.

Complaining, impatience and stress
Complaining can reflect our displeasure and unhappiness about a situation or person. Human beings are difficult to please and satisfy. They can become stressful and impatient. These two things, stress and impatience, they can lead to constant complaining and whining about things. Israel was unhappy about food and water. They constantly worry and complain.

• Numbers 20:2-5
  Now there was no water for the congregation; so, they gathered against Moses and Aaron. And the people contended with Moses and spoke, saying: “If only we had died when our brethren died before the LORD! Why have you brought up the assembly of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our animals should die here? And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink.”
• Numbers 21:4-6
  They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!” Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.
• Matthew 6:25
  “Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?

Complaining, jealousy and envy

Jealousy and envy can cause people to desire power and positions. They will complain. They will have egos. They can influence others to support them in their complaining. There are consequences when we complain and influence others.

• Numbers 16:1-4
  Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and on son of Peleth became insolent and revolted against Moses. With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council. They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the LORD’s assembly?” When Moses heard this, he fell facedown.
• Numbers 16:30-34
  But if the LORD brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the realm of the dead, then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with contempt.” As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, and all those associated with Korah, together with their possessions. They went down alive into the realm of the dead, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community.

Complaining and misunderstanding
People hear things, they misunderstand them, they are not satisfied, they are unhappy, so they start to grumble, murmur and complain. The disciples heard Jesus talking about eating the bread of life. They did not understand. They started to complain. The Jews heard Jesus, they misunderstood what he was saying. They started to murmur.

• John 6:60-61
  On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you?

 Complaining can affect people

Constant complaining can get to people. It can get them on their wrong side to lash out and do what they should not. Moses was a meek and gentle man. The constant complaining of the people caused him to lash out.

• Numbers 20:7-13
  The LORD said to Moses, “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.” So, Moses took the staff from the LORD’s presence, just as he commanded him. He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank. But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.” These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the LORD and where he was proved holy among them.

Complaining and appreciation

People who constantly complain and murmur are ungrateful and not appreciative. They forget the contributions God and man have made. They also lack faith.

• Psalm 106:21-26
  They exchanged their glorious God for an image of a bull, which eats grass. They forgot the God who saved them, who had done great things in Egypt, miracles in the land of Ham and awesome deeds by the Red Sea So he said he would destroy them— had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him to keep his wrath from destroying them. Then they despised the pleasant land; they did not believe his promise.

Complaining and comparing
Human beings have the mindset with comparing themselves with others. Martha was complaining about laboring in the kitchen, while Mary sat and listened to Jesus. People complain and compare their work and wages with others.

• Luke 10:38-42
  As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
• Matthew 20:1-4
  “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’
• Matthew 20:8-15
  “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’ “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. So, when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’ “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

 False teachers and complaining

Jude called those who engage in false teachings as murmurers and complainers.

• Jude 1:4
  For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
• Jude 1:16
  These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.

Complain and grievances

A grievance is an official statement of a complaint over something believed to be wrong or unfair. There are situations that will arise where people may feel that their needs and concerns are not being met. They have a responsibility to have it addressed in the proper way and through the right channel. They have a responsibility to express how they feel about a particular situation.

• Acts 6:1-5
  In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So, the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

Complaining an example not to follow

We are warned that we should not follow the bad example of Israel that complained about almost everything. There are consequences for complainers

• 1 Corinthians 10:10-11
  Nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

Justifiable and unjustifiable complaining
If what a person is complaining about, is discussed or aired openly, and it is without wrong motives to cause confusion and division, then that will be stating a grievance. That complaining is justified. However, if what a person is complaining about has wrong motives to cause confusion and division, that complaining is wrong and not justified.

Christians are to avoid these negative qualities
These negative qualities do not build. They are destructive. As we work out our salvation, we must avoid these bad qualities.

• Philippians 2:12-14
  Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Do everything without grumbling or arguing.

The impact of these negative qualities in a congregation

A local congregation (church) is made of people. These people come from different backgrounds and have different personalities. The membership of a local congregation is made of old, young, strong and weak persons. The strength of a local congregation is built on love, unity and peace. Constant complaining, criticizing, murmuring, grumbling and disagreeing are destructive to a congregation. These things can cause unhappiness, hatred, anger, stress, bitterness and division in a congregation.