I think God is challenging me to open my eyes to the amount of complaining and unedifying speech that comes out of my mouth. Over the last few days I've been increasingly aware of these traits in my life.
In my NIV Study Bible the text notes say complaining is defined as "being discontented with God's will is an expression of unbelief that prevents one from doing what pleases God."
This was helpful because it gives me a direction to head in. What is a possible source of my complaining? It may be that I have a heart of discontentment! (I know that I do, I have seen it appear all over the place lately!)
Paul is super helpful in that he gives us two examples of people who "get" it:
- Christ in verses 5-11
- Timothy in verses 19-23
Observation: Paul can write things like Phil 2:1-4 and Phil 4:4-8 that exhort others because he's already living it out in his own life!
Personal Application
Everything I have been given is a gift. There was never a point where I could have earned anything. I didn't even have a say in this because God chose before the foundation of the world to purchase me by His Son's death, burial, and resurrection.
I might as well give up the attitude that I "deserve" things, whether it be rest & recreation, nice possessions, or whatever. Honestly, life will be much more enjoyable once I grasp this and live in an attitude of gratefulness and praise. After all, what has discontentment and complaining gotten me? Absolutely nothing more than a flustered lifestyle bent/spent on pursuing things that are consistently out of my grasp, that I was never intended to have to begin with! (Not to mention it is sinful, causes me to be a poor witness of the Gospel, and potentially leads my brothers and sisters into sin too! Sounds worth it, right? note the Sarcasm!)
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