I have to admit. I have a problem with complaining sometimes. I don’t know why. If I look back in hindsight I don’t really see what benefit it provided me. It’s just kind of like verbal nothingness. It doesn’t really serve a purpose. At least not a positive purpose.
I have a little situation I’m dealing with right now. My heater blower motor in my car stopped working last week. As you know, this isn’t the warmest time of year. It makes for a cold car ride in December. This is generally something I would normally complain about it. I’ve since realized that doesn’t help anything. I could easily think about it in purely negative terms. I could think, “Why did this have to happen at the coldest time of year?”, or, “Why did such an expensive part have to go bad?” Of course, these wouldn’t be very positive reactions to the situation. I would also be ignoring some very important points. Because the reality is that I was taking for granted all the times when it was working in the past. Now I know what it’s like when it doesn’t work and have a better appreciation for when it does. I’m also missing the big picture. So, my blower motor doesn’t work. But what if I didn’t even have a car for the blower motor not to work in. I would have a lot more to complain about then, wouldn’t I? We often lose perspective when we take things for granted.
There’s something I learned in psychology. There are different levels of needs a person has. There was a guy named Abraham Maslow who, in the 1940’s, came up with a hierarchy of needs. It’s called ‘Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs’. He wanted to understand people and their motivations. So, he came up with these different levels of needs. They start widest at the bottom moving up to the top until it forms a pyramid. The bottom (most basic) need is ‘physiological’. These are things like food, shelter, water, air, etc. The second level is ‘Safety’. This is obviously just our basic need to feel safe. The third level is ‘Social’. This is just our need to have relationships, whether it’s family, a spouse, or friends. The fourth level is ‘Esteem’. This is just a sense of achievement, self-respect and such. The fifth, and final, level is Self-Actualization. This would be our sense of fulfillment and realizing our potential.
When I look at these levels of needs I come to an important realization in my life. Most of the time I’m probably at the very top level of that pyramid. Especially for most of us in this country, we have so much more to be thankful for than a lot of people in the world. And probably more than most people who have ever lived. Yet I still have a tendency to complain, even at the top, when all those other levels of needs are already being met. Maybe from now on, before I start to complain, I might just ask myself, “Wait, what level of the hierarchy am I on right now? Oh, I’m still on the top? Never mind.” But the reality is, no matter what level I’m on, I still don’t have any right to complain. There’s always something I can be thankful for.
I think the most important thing for me to remember about complaining is that it isn’t pleasing to God. Because, really, when I do that I’m not being very grateful for all He’s given me. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Now this doesn’t mean we give thanks for everything, but I give thanks in everything. This means in every situation I’m in, I’m still thankful for what I have, and I’m thankful to God. This is what’s honoring to God, when we can do this.
Consult your wholesale viagra online accountant prior to when making any primary buys, still keeps in mind a financial savings may just be substantial. Being a PDE 5 inhibiting medication, it is regarded as the generic tablet that levitra online pharmacy works very similarly to the kamagra. Few mild side effects like headache and nausea have been experienced previously may reoccur transiently during detoxification; sometimes it is hard to stay on top and continue to do so, hence we are introduced to new and appalachianmagazine.com viagra no prescription amazing features every now and then. As a result, this specific remedy helps in treating type-2 sale of sildenafil tablets diabetes. Philippians 2:14 says, “Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.” God has called us to a life of thankfulness. That begins with us not complaining. This verse says, “…That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world…” What stands out to me here is that we are to shine as lights in the world. The reality is that if I’m complaining and having a negative attitude around other people, I’m not being much of a light, am I? It’s certainly not attractive to others. When we have a positive around other people this helps us to stand out in a ‘crooked and perverse nation’. People may wonder what makes us so different. This gives us the perfect opportunity to tell them why we’re different. It goes on to say, “…Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain.” When I read this section I think about being fruitful. God wants us to be fruitful. Being thankful is a part of us being fruitful. This is us bearing good fruit for others to see.
If you want to look for some good verses on being thankful and full of praise, the book of Psalms is a great place to begin. Psalms 106:1 says, “Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for [he is] good: for his mercy [endureth] for ever.” See, if we have trouble finding anything to be thankful for, there’s always these two things—God is good, and His mercy endures forever. No matter what else, God is good to me, and He’s been merciful to me. These aren’t just true because these are what God does, they’re true because they’re what God is. He is good and merciful. And He cannot be less than himself. Why? Because God says in Malachi 3:6 “For I [am] the LORD, I change not…..” See, God doesn’t change. Hey, there’s another thing we can be thankful for!
1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
Philippians 2:14 says, “Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.”
Psalms 106:1 says, “Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for [he is] good: for his mercy [endureth] for ever.”
Malachi 3:6 “For I [am] the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.”