Whining

 "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Has my arm lost its power? Now you will see whether or not my word comes true!'" Numbers 11:10-23


Growing up our kids regularly took turns sitting in the whining chair. It was a little green chair that allowed the whiner their own space in a different room to process their emotions and consider the disrespectful, annoying and selfish tone of their voice. Once they gathered themselves, they were allowed to return to the family. Most of the time, all went well. However, if the whining continued, the chair was ready for action!! 

Moses had hundreds of thousands of whiners. There weren't enough chairs to put them all in one. God brought fire to wipe some of them out, but the whining continued. Moses was absolutely worn out. "Kill me and put me out of my misery!!" he asked God. The whining was pure torture. He couldn't take it anymore. Graciously, God stepped in and provided him some help. He anointed more leaders. He promised to give them meat until they couldn't stand it anymore. Moses began to question God. Whining has that effect on one's faith.

Whining finds expression in all of our lives, doesn't it? We think that everything would be great if it weren't just for this (fill in the blank). We whine about the weather, the traffic, the politicians, the prices, the service at the restaurant and on and on it goes. We are hard-wired to whine. Why is that? And, what in the world can be done about it? I'd rather not have bar-b-queued or force-fed birds like the Israelites. Perhaps David was on to something when he wrote Ps. 34, "I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praises."

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