QUITYERBELLYACHIN

That is a sign posted over the threshold of my daughter’s bedroom.  Not without coincidence, that the sign is facing my bedroom.  In fact, I can see it from where I lay in bed.  Suspicious?  You will have to ask my wife’s intent.  But there it is every morning before I even have the chance to walk out the door with the cruel world, before I have the chance to go downstairs to start my daily routine, before I even have the chance to moan out of bed; there it is to greet me-QUITYERBELLYACHIN.  We stare at each other like the eyes of a final showdown in a Clint Eastwood western.  Which one of us will flinch first?  Then I am reminded of Paul’s exhortations to “rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice.”
The holiday season is gradually coming upon us, and with that time of the year we officially celebrate Thanksgiving.  As I was musing over this occasion (probably while in bed staring at that stupid sign), I thought how much easier it is to complain than it is to be grateful.  Thomas Edison said, “Grouches are nearly always pinheads, small men who have never made any effort to improve their mental capacity.”  Someone once remarked that nothing is easier than faultfinding; it takes no talent, no self-denial, no brains, and no character.  Complaints are for those who take the cheap and lazy way out.  Consider the follow findings from Scripture and allow these citations to cause you to be proactive in thanksgiving.
You should stop complaining because you love God (Exodus 16:7-8; Numbers 11:1).
We should recognize that complaints about the work of God are directly connected to God Himself.  In the passages mentioned above, God takes Israel’s ‘bellyaching” personally.
You should stop complaining because you love your soul (Numbers 11:26ff; 1 Corinthians 10:6-10; Philippians 2:14-15; Jude 16).
These citations indicate that God equates complaining with the wicked.  Jeremy Taylor once said, “It is usually not so much the greatness of our troubles as the littleness of our spirit that makes us complain.”  If you are a constant complainer, you may need to look deep within your heart and ask yourself if you have the Christ Who makes us thankful.
 You should stop complaining because you love others (Leviticus 19:18; Acts 6:1).
In Leviticus 19:18 there is a correlation between holding a grudge against someone else, and not loving him or her.  In other words, you cannot do both at the same time.  Complainers are kamikazes.  They are destructive.  They tear down.  They usually care only for their own selfishness.
You should stop complaining because things could always be worse (Lamentations 3:39).
Jeremiah, the writer of Lamentations, remarks to his audience, how can a mortal man grumble when he still lives in spite of sin?  God could have placed eternal punishment on us the moment we arrived on earth because we are sinners, yet He gives us life.  The next time any one of us are tempted to open are mouths and murmur perhaps we should remind ourselves that living in God’s grace is better than abiding in hell no matter how bad things get.
 You should stop complaining because you do not want to be judged (James 5:9).
Let us remember we are merely rehearsing here what we will review again in the heavenly tribunal.  
You should stop complaining because you like having people around you (1 Peter 4:9).
Few people like being around a grouch.  The Word of God even commends avoiding people who are “sour pusses” (Proverbs 21:19).
You should stop complaining because God does not always give you what you ask for (Exodus 16:2-3).
Complainers tend to act on emotions rather than on rationality.  Numbers 14:1-4 is a good example of grumblers who get carried away and plan to do something foolish.  They often “bite the hand that feeds them”.  Praise God that He delivers deluded minds anyway!

You should stop complaining because God may give you what you ask for.
The lesson with Israel’s ungodly desire for a king is a good reminder to keep quiet and be content in what God gives us than to voice discontentment and regret it the rest of our lives.

As we celebrate this Thanksgiving season, let us be thankful!  Think of ways you can express your gratefulness to God and others.  “Do all things without grumbling or disputing so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world.” (Philippians 2:14-15)  I am thankful for even the little things that God teaches me valuable lessons.  Like a wooden sign hanging over the doorway to my daughter’s room, that greets me every morning and never flinches in its truth.