Since the Fall of man, grumbling has been a natural thing that we humans can fall into. It is easy to begin grumbling when things do not go our own way. I know from personal experience how easy it is to grumble. However, grumbling should have no place in the heart of a believer in Christ. As Christians, we should be thankful for what the Lord is doing in our lives. Grumbling shows that we do not really trust the Lord in our hearts and minds. Also, not only does grumbling display that we do not trust the Lord, but it is also not very beneficial for our mental health. In this blog, I shall discuss some ways that grumbling harms our mental psyche. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list of the harmful effects of grumbling, however. There are innumerable ways grumbling affects our mental health, but for the sake of this blog, I shall focus on a few of them. If you can think of any more, please feel free to tell me in the comments below. Before I get into the ways grumbling affects our mental health, please allow me to take you to some Bible scriptures on grumbling. When we turn to Philippians 2:14-15, we read the following,
"Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and depraved generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world"
In this text, we see a clear command to do everything without grumbling. This Scripture does not tell us to only do easy things without grumbling, but it also tells us to do difficult things without grumbling too. Then, it goes on to say that when we do not grumble, we are seen by God as blameless and innocent children in whom we shine brightly in this depraved world. One of the things that separate us from unbelievers is our undying trust in the Lord in every circumstance. So, while the world is busy fretting over this or that, we can rest easy because we know our omnipotent God has our back.
Also, when we turn to 1 Corinthians 10:8-10, we read the following,
"We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day. We must not put Christ to the test as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer"
In this text, the Apostle Paul points us to the Israelites as an example of what happened to people in the Old Testament times when they grumbled. God saw grumbling as a capital offense against Him and it was worthy of death! This is how serious our Lord takes grumbling. This is why we Christians in the New Testament times should be all the more willing to keep ourselves from grumbling. When we grumble, we are not only venting our feelings, but we are complaining about God's sovereignty.
Now, that I have established what the Bible says concerning grumbling, I shall discuss how grumbling harms our mental health. As I contemplate this issue, I have noticed three ways grumbling impacts our mental health: Peace of Mind, Loving Others, and Workaholic-ism. I will now elaborate on these three points.
Peace of Mind
What I mean by this point is that grumbling destroys our peace of mind. When we grumble, we are basically telling the Lord that we do not trust Him. We may not verbally say this out loud, but we are saying this in our hearts. As a result, we will begin to stress out about things that we should not be stressing out about. Instead, it would be helpful if we meditated on our Lord's words in Matthew 6:33-34. He tells us,
"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble"
In this passage, Jesus tells us to not worry about anything because the Lord will provide. He uses the beautiful analogy of birds and flowers saying that they do nothing to care for themselves, yet our Heavenly Father takes care of them. How much more worthy are we compared to them? If we really believed this, we should never worry, or grumble about anything.
Loving Others
What I mean about this is that when we have a heart that grumbles against God, it will taint how we see other people. If we are always grumbling about this or that, then we will look with jealousy at the people around us who we perceive to have a better life than we do. It would be helpful to us if we meditated on Philippians 2:3, which tells us,
"Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others as more significant than yourselves"
What Paul is telling us here is that we should not look at people with envy, but instead, we should consider other people as more important than ourselves. I know this is much easier said than done, but with the Holy Spirit's help, anything is possible. Paul uses the example of Christ to make this point. Jesus is in every way God, but He did not consider equality with God something to be grasped but instead came to us as a servant. In the same way, we should behave as He did.
Workaholic-ism
What I mean by this is that when we have a heart that grumbles, not only are we not trusting in the Lord, but this will cause us to attempt to handle things on our own. As a result of this, we will forget that the Lord is sovereign and begin to think that we are sovereign over our own universe and that everything hinges on what we say and do. When we have this type of attitude, we will forever become like a hamster in a hamster wheel, always running but never quite getting to where we want or need to go. This in the end will lead to literal death due to overstress
I hope that this blog helps you better understand why grumbling is bad for believers' mental and why God sees this as such a serious offense. However, if we are caught in the sin of grumbling, there is grace from the Lord. As Romans 8:1 tells us,
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for the one in Christ Jesus..."
We are not condemned anymore when we sin because we are covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. When we sin, God sees us as holy and blameless before Him. Thank you very much for taking the time to read my blog and may the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ radically bless you all!
-David Lee Chu Sarchet
Christian Mental Health Advocate
Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
"Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and depraved generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world"
In this text, we see a clear command to do everything without grumbling. This Scripture does not tell us to only do easy things without grumbling, but it also tells us to do difficult things without grumbling too. Then, it goes on to say that when we do not grumble, we are seen by God as blameless and innocent children in whom we shine brightly in this depraved world. One of the things that separate us from unbelievers is our undying trust in the Lord in every circumstance. So, while the world is busy fretting over this or that, we can rest easy because we know our omnipotent God has our back.
Also, when we turn to 1 Corinthians 10:8-10, we read the following,
"We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day. We must not put Christ to the test as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer"
In this text, the Apostle Paul points us to the Israelites as an example of what happened to people in the Old Testament times when they grumbled. God saw grumbling as a capital offense against Him and it was worthy of death! This is how serious our Lord takes grumbling. This is why we Christians in the New Testament times should be all the more willing to keep ourselves from grumbling. When we grumble, we are not only venting our feelings, but we are complaining about God's sovereignty.
Now, that I have established what the Bible says concerning grumbling, I shall discuss how grumbling harms our mental health. As I contemplate this issue, I have noticed three ways grumbling impacts our mental health: Peace of Mind, Loving Others, and Workaholic-ism. I will now elaborate on these three points.
Peace of Mind
What I mean by this point is that grumbling destroys our peace of mind. When we grumble, we are basically telling the Lord that we do not trust Him. We may not verbally say this out loud, but we are saying this in our hearts. As a result, we will begin to stress out about things that we should not be stressing out about. Instead, it would be helpful if we meditated on our Lord's words in Matthew 6:33-34. He tells us,
"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble"
In this passage, Jesus tells us to not worry about anything because the Lord will provide. He uses the beautiful analogy of birds and flowers saying that they do nothing to care for themselves, yet our Heavenly Father takes care of them. How much more worthy are we compared to them? If we really believed this, we should never worry, or grumble about anything.
Loving Others
What I mean about this is that when we have a heart that grumbles against God, it will taint how we see other people. If we are always grumbling about this or that, then we will look with jealousy at the people around us who we perceive to have a better life than we do. It would be helpful to us if we meditated on Philippians 2:3, which tells us,
"Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others as more significant than yourselves"
What Paul is telling us here is that we should not look at people with envy, but instead, we should consider other people as more important than ourselves. I know this is much easier said than done, but with the Holy Spirit's help, anything is possible. Paul uses the example of Christ to make this point. Jesus is in every way God, but He did not consider equality with God something to be grasped but instead came to us as a servant. In the same way, we should behave as He did.
Workaholic-ism
What I mean by this is that when we have a heart that grumbles, not only are we not trusting in the Lord, but this will cause us to attempt to handle things on our own. As a result of this, we will forget that the Lord is sovereign and begin to think that we are sovereign over our own universe and that everything hinges on what we say and do. When we have this type of attitude, we will forever become like a hamster in a hamster wheel, always running but never quite getting to where we want or need to go. This in the end will lead to literal death due to overstress
I hope that this blog helps you better understand why grumbling is bad for believers' mental and why God sees this as such a serious offense. However, if we are caught in the sin of grumbling, there is grace from the Lord. As Romans 8:1 tells us,
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for the one in Christ Jesus..."
We are not condemned anymore when we sin because we are covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. When we sin, God sees us as holy and blameless before Him. Thank you very much for taking the time to read my blog and may the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ radically bless you all!
-David Lee Chu Sarchet
Christian Mental Health Advocate
Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
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