Hmmm...
You know, there may not be a fine line between complaining and anything. I think if we're honest with ourselves, complaining is pretty easy to spot. Probably because there is so much of it constantly bombarding us these days.
Lately, I haven't been able to escape the complaints that Christians are constantly making. On Facebook, Twitter, and blogs a steady stream of whining constitutes so many of the posts that I read. The easy solution would be to stop reading them, yes? Unfortunately, many of these posts are my close friends. I will not pretend that I am not also guilt of such complaining (for example, this post so far), but it still makes me a little sick.
In fact, that I am also guilty of such behavior is most likely the reason it sickens me. The faults we find in ourselves tend to stand out more to us in the lives of others.
What gets me down the most about all of it is that the majority of complaints are aimed at other Christians. Books and articles are published every day "about God" (but really should bear titles like "Why So-and-so Is Wrong and I Am Right"). People compare churches, raising one above the other as the model of Christian community. We tear at each other for...what?
What do we gain by firing these critiques back and forth?
A sense of superiority? Probably.
A greater conviction of our own rightness? Possibly.
A closer resemblance to the Body of Christ? Absolutely not.
It is so easy to belittle that which is different. We all believe that we are right, otherwise we would believe differently. The much harder and more Godly (funny how often those go together) act is to encourage and elevate that which is different.
If someone loves their congregation, community, or ministry, that's great! However, we must learn to love those who do things differently, who look at the world another way, and who may disagree with how we do things. Then we will know what it is to be the Body of Christ.
Blessings,
Matt
3 comments:
I've been thinking a lot about complaining lately. To me, it seems that facebook, twitter, etc. almost glorify complaining. Does it seem that way to you?
I also struggle with not complaining but not being fake, either. At our church, people put a lot of emphasis on not just saying "fine" when people ask "how are you?" And, normally, I can answer that question positively. But what about when I really am having a bad day? Is it better to fake it? Or complain?
I completely agree about social networking sites. Especially so for teens.
Here's my thought about the "how are you?" thing. It's always better to be honest. (Easier said than done, I know.) But, if we are complaining on the inside, we should be willing to open up about that.
Who knows? Maybe we'll find ourselves complaining less on the inside when we have to own up to it face to face.
Good point about complaining on the inside. I guess it's not just the complaining to others that's harmful. Even if it's just to myself, it can be destructive.
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