"Thou Shalt Not Whine"

Thou shalt not vent, thou shalt not whine,

Complaining poisons every line.

We are told in God’s own Book,

It’s really there, so take a look.

No matter what we say or do,

With our complaints we should be through.

Same thing goes for argument,

Contentious spirits prone to vent.

Winners never take the time,

To badmouth folks or moan and whine.

Those back in the wilderness,

Tested God with all their mess.

And murmuring was what they said,

In forty years they all dropped dead.

He said these folks had tested Him,

So don’t complain and be like them.

Knowing that our words are seeds,

And we don’t want to plant old weeds.

But rather a good harvest there,

Made by Kingdom words we share.

The power of both life and death,

Are in the tongue, there’s no regret,

In words that we choose not to say,

So make the change and start today.

Let this be a God check-up,

With unclean words don’t fill your cup.

‘Cause it might just pour back on you,

And cause more harm, so get a clue.

Instead give thanks in everything,

It is God’s will for us to sing.

Let the Spirit take control,

And we’ll be glad for what we told.

“Do everything without complaining or arguing…” (Philippians 2:14, NIV)

Seems like a pretty tall order, doesn’t it? Everything? Yessir, everything. This does not mean we ignore what’s wrong or somehow live in denial of reality. It means that we surrender to the Lord how we react. There will always be something to complain about. There will always be someone to argue with. But as children of God we are called to behave a different way. And if we stop complaining and arguing, we will be different from almost everyone else. It will become part of our witness, and we will shine like stars, according to God’s word. Something this simple can make a profound difference. It will take time and effort to submit to the Holy Spirit’s control, but it can be done. We can do all things without complaint or argument. Let’s get on with it.

Lord, help us do everything without complaining or arguing, starting now, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Don Weller, donweller.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Don, and God bless you.