Dr. Robin Harris Kimbrough
Anyone who has gone to a church will know the lyrics to Rev. Paul Jones’ ‘I won’t complain.’ The song reveals the human response to when things do not go our way: we complain.
We moan and groan about how we feel about the situation. Some of us complain even when things are going our way. How many of us know someone that even when something positive happens to them, they complain that it did not happen fast enough or maybe they have a negative word about the situation? We live in a world of complainers. When we are facing obstacles or if something is not going quite the way we would have it go, we need to hear the words of David: “I will bless the Lord at all times, and his praise shall continue to be in my mouth,” Psalms 34:1. If praise were continually on our mouths, we would not have time to complain.
Having praise on our mouths means that when there is a problem or a challenge, instead of pointing fingers and throwing a pity party, we think positively about the situation and do something about it. In this life, things happen that can turn the music off at a praise party. Death, loss, sickness, physical hurt, emotional pain, and the impatience we experience when waiting on the Lord can all mess with our ability to praise. Then, we find ourselves complaining: ‘why me?’
We have to always remember when we find ourselves complaining about our jobs, that someone else needs one. When we start to complain that our feet hurt along with other parts of our body, we need to remember those that do not have feet or who are not alive to talk about their aches and pain. When we start to complain about how our children are getting on our nerves, remember that they could be sick and inactive. There is always someone else worse off than we are. We should not be going around complaining about what we do not have when someone else has less.
As we grow in grace, we will develop a deeper appreciation of what God does for us in spite of who we are and what we have done. We should bless the Lord at all times, including those times that are not so good.
The more we bless God for who he is and what he is doing in our lives, the mumbling and grumbling will not take control of our minds and bodies.
We can find lots of reasons to complain, but we can also find even more reasons to rejoice. I won’t complain.
