Tuesday, November 17, 2020
Do all things without complaining and
disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without
fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine
as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in
the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. Philippians
2:14-16
Contented
Discontent
Are you, or do you know someone who is content in discontent? Sounds crazy,
but that is exactly what some people are – happy right where they are, being
discontent. They may not even realize it, and they may seem to want to change
their circumstances, but they don’t want to do the work required. It is a
fact that some people prefer to be affirmed in their discontent, rather than
affirmed in the power and sufficiency of Jesus Christ. Although
it is a miserable prison, it is more comfortable than change. We would rather
sit in our afflictions and complain about them rather than do what we need to
do to move forward and heal.
Having a valid reason to be unhappy opens the door for
those who feed discontent with their speech to greatly affect our individual
peace.
Not only are we happy to sit in discontentment, we find others
that will sit with us as well. Birds of a feather flock together and misery
loves company… People who are discontent and complain, often recruit others
for their cause. They are masters at leading us away from the sovereign provision
of our Lord into the woeful complaining about our seemingly unsurmountable circumstances.
Complaining is contagious. It is hard to catch ourselves and keep from joining
in, and before we know it, we are agreeing with them.
Our world is filled with complainers – and there is
nothing you can do to make them happy. There are some people who will never be
happy – no matter what. If you know someone who has never been happy in any job
they have ever had, the common denominator is them. No matter how good things
get they still only see the bad - and they go to huge lengths to point it out
to everyone around them. This leaks into every area of their life – their relationships,
their family life, etc.
The constant negativity issuing forth from chronic
complainers presents a huge challenge for those around them to remain positive
in a negative world. It is also very taxing emotionally and even physically for
those who are around them and somehow feel responsible for trying to make them
happy. It won’t happen. But the physical and emotional toll of living with someone
in constant strife and discontent is crushing, and unfortunately those who love
these people will feel it the most.
There is a difference between those who have a momentary
difference of opinion and voice it, or those who are sharing the pain they feel
because of a life circumstance. People
need to talk, and it is not complaining if you are talking out and processing
the issues you are up against. It is the constant state of oppression and heaviness
of those who constantly complain and find a special identity and power in their
right to criticize, disparage, nitpick or find some fault with anything and
everything in their lives.
If you know someone like this, I encourage you to be a light
as much as possible. Highlight the positive side of things and try to remind
them of the good things in their life. Sow seeds of wisdom and love as much as possible
and most of all, don’t let their negativity pull you down. And pray. Pray for
them to be open to God’s goodness. It is up to them to choose, but we can do
our part to spread the Light of the World to every negative person.
