Whining

“Moses heard all the families standing in the doorways of their tents whining, and the Lord became extremely angry. Moses was also very aggravated." Numbers 11:10

When our children were very young, we established our home as a "No Whining Zone". Violators were immediately removed from the rest of the family and placed into the whining chair in the corner of the next room. When they were done whining, they could return to the family. At no time did we ever acknowledge them when they were whining much less give in to them ... straight to the whiner's chair.   

The problem of whining, as we see in our verse for the day, did not originate with my family. God's people were also infected with the virus. God refused to put up with up it. His discipline was swift and severe. Whining is simply unacceptable. It reveals an ungrateful and self-centered attitude that ultimately ruins a person. Love moves swiftly to address it. 

As adults, we become more subtle at whining. We misuse phrases like "constructive criticism" and "just being honest" to try to hide what's really going on. We're whining, pure and simple. There are more days than I care to admit that I need to go sit in the whiner's chair until I get my head and heart in the right place. What about you? What do you say we take time today to be thankful to Jesus and to look for ways to be a blessing to others. Let's get out of those whiner's chairs!

Grace and Peace,

Tom

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