Murmurings and Disputings

Philippians 2:14 - "Do all things without murmurings and disputings."

The more I ponder the different issues I see in life, the more I realize how selfish I as a human being can be. This past school year I have really tried to practice self-control and stop complaining. This is not something that comes easy to be as I am a selfish human being who wants things my way and life to be easy. Of course, it does not work that way.

I really hate to other people complain about certain things. Sadly, the things I hate to hear complaints about tend to be the things that I myself complain about. Did I mention how much I cannot stand hypocrisy. This always makes me think of what Jesus said in Matthew 7:5, "Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote of thy brother's eye."

You see, I can get all fired up about others who complain, but what about myself? Until I can control my own thoughts and tongue, I cannot talk about anyone else. I realized that even when I do vocalize my complaints, the thoughts running through my head are just as bad. When you consider I am a poor college student, I really am not bad off. I have been given so much, yet it never seems to be enough. I need to stop complaining and be grateful for what I have. Everything could always be so much worse.

I was inspired to write this post after seeing an event some friends were having at their college. They are having a no food complaints day at school. I know here at my college that a lot of us complain about our food choices. I always hate when people do this in front of the cooks, but the other college made a good point - we could really be fed poison and rotting vegetables, but we are not. So even if I do not vocalize my complaints in front of the cooks, my heart attitude is not right. I may be paying a lot of money for it, but if I was being fed top class gourmet food, it would be a lot more money. Anyway, this is just one example of my complaining issues yet to be conquered. It will be a constant battle, but I hope to be more grateful as well as work on my own attitude rather than complaining about others. What a vicious circle! God is always good through it all, and my heart is happy.