Stay away from complaining … so that no one can speak a word of blame against you (Philippians 2:14-15).
Every church has members who are always complaining about something. On any given Sunday, one will complain that the church is too hot and another that it's too cold. One will complain about always singing "the same old hymns" and another about unfamiliar hymns.
Hearing complaints disheartens ministers, making them less effective. Lay leaders become discouraged when the same ones who always have an excuse for not helping sit back and criticize those who do. New Christians—who expect to be uplifted—grow disillusioned when they instead encounter a thistle patch of griping.
And nothing is quite so devastating to marital happiness as an endless recitation of a spouse's unfinished projects, personal flaws, and poor eating habits and grooming. A similar negativity can pervade the parent/child relationship. One teen said, "I can do a hundred things right, but all I ever hear about are the few things I do wrong."
An appreciative tongue could have saved the Israelites in the wilderness and can save many a faltering relationship. When you give children and fellow church members an example worthy to be followed, your life will "shine brightly before them" (Philippians 2:15).
—LeRoy Koopman in Beauty Care for the Tongue
I'll commit to saying something constructive before voicing a complaint.
Some people seem to go through life standing at the complaint counter. —Fred Propp Jr.
1 comment:
Imagine! What if we had an agreement with the whole church that during this time of transition and change, we agreed that no one would utter a word of negativity! Wow. That would be great. Janet Earls
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