Forbidden Words – Murmuring
Here’s an area where everyone could make improvements. Murmuring is something that God forbids us to do, but we often do it anyway. Why? It’s a way to gratify the flesh. When we murmur, we create the false impression that we are doing something about the problem, but it does nothing to help. Murmuring is complaining with no intention of getting personally involved in the remediation; it is passive aggressive. What does that mean? It does not deal with things directly, but slinks around behind other peoples’ backs to create circumstances where someone else will do (for the murmurer) that for which he is murmuring. This is manipulative and sinful! In 1 Corinthians 10:10, the apostle Paul wrote, “Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.”
One alternative to murmuring is to ask for help. Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). Asking for help actively engage in resolving matters. Sometimes people murmur because they are too proud to ask for help. Murmuring is their way of avoiding pride problems. The truth is that they compound their problems by adding the sin of murmuring on top of the sin of pride! End the pride and end the murmuring.
Another alternative to murmuring is to do whatever it is that needs to be done yourself. Philippians 2:14 says, “Do all things without murmurings and disputings.” Take up the matter at hand and work to resolve it instead of uselessly complaining about it to another to make yourself appear morally superior. There is no reason for Christians to murmur. Count your blessings! Work! Ask for help! These are the right ways to approach the resolution of problems.
God bless you, and I love you.
Kevin Cauley