GOODBYE
When Max Lucado participated in
a half-Ironman triathlon, he experienced the negative power of complaint. He
said, “After the 1.2-mile swim and the 56-mile bike ride, I didn’t have much
energy left for the 13.1-mile run. Neither did the fellow jogging next to me.
He said, ‘This stinks. This race is the dumbest decision I’ve ever made.’ I
said, ‘Goodbye.’ ” Max knew that if he listened too long, he would start
agreeing with him. So he said goodbye and kept running.
Among the Israelites, too many
people listened too long to complaints and began to agree with them. This
displeased God, and for good reason. God had delivered the Israelites from
slavery, and agreed to live in their midst, but they still complained. Beyond
the hardship of the desert, they were dissatisfied with God’s provision of
manna. In their complaint, Israel forgot that the manna was a gift to them from
God’s loving hand (Num. 11:6). Because complaining poisons the heart with
ingratitude and can be a contagion, God had to judge it.
This is a sure way to say
“goodbye” to complaining and ingratitude: Each day, let’s rehearse the faithfulness
and goodness of God to us.
Proclaiming God’s faithfulness silences
discontentment. (RBC)
