The Cure For Cancer

As I was doing my studies today, I came across this passage in Numbers chapter 11. It says in verses 1 through 3 (I am paraphrasing) that the Israelites complained (again) and God didn’t like it. God got angry and sent His fire and it burnt up some of the people around the edges of the camp. Then the Israelites cried out to Moses. The passage ends with Moses praying and the fire of God being removed.

What brought on this wrath of God? It was the complaining of the Israelites! God wanted them to know just how displeasing this was to Him, so God showed His anger in a fire. This is an Old Testament illustration of the basic truth that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).

But is complaining really a sin? Paul writes in Philippians 2:14 that we should “Do all things without complaining and disputing.” Another version says to do all things without grumbling and complaining. Anyway you look it is a command, written by Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit. It says do. It doesn’t say I suggest or I urge, it says DO ALL THINGS.

Now before you feel as though I am being self righteous, I want to confess that I have been really failing at this. I often complain without even thinking twice about it. But when I read the passage in Numbers about how displeasing it was to God when the Israelites did it, I was convicted of this sin that is so commonplace in many of our lives that we do it without thought. It’s almost as if complaining is a reflex (an uncontrolled reaction to a stimulus).

Complaining is a cancer. It eats us up. It focuses our attention on the negative things going on around us. It changes our mood and frame of mind. Think about the last time you were around someone who complained non-stop. Did you really want to be around that person? When my children begin complaining about something, it is a matter of seconds before I have had enough! Complaining not only changes your own mood and frame of mind, but it changes the mood of those around us. Ms. Teressa Wiley said in a Bible study about our homes, “The atmosphere of your home is dictated by your reaction to the seasons of life.”

Why then is complaining a sin? Complaining about situations in our life is the voice of unbelief. It is saying that you don’t think your God is big enough to handle the situation. It can be that we question God’s sovereignty in a situation. The words that say “I don’t think God knows what He is doing here.” If an unbeliever was around you and saw your constant complaining, how would they view your God and Savior? We are to be a reflection of Christ to those around us. Complaints do not reflect God’s nature of love, goodness and purity. Our witness is demolished when the words we speak are constant complaints.

There is a cure for the cancer of complaining. Paul not only gives the command to do all things without complaining, but later in Philippians, Paul gives us the cure for complaints. In chapter 4, it says “Be anxious for nothing”, or don’t worry about things in your life. “But in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” Going to God in prayer with thanksgiving, refocuses our mind on the good things of God. Prayer should be our first response, not our last resort.

Further on in the fourth chapter of Philippians, Paul tells us the rest of the cure. In 4 verse 8, Paul tells us to think on the things which are good, the things that are true and pure. If there is anything praiseworthy, think about these things. What is pure? What is true? What is good? Only God is!

God, You alone are holy and true. Forgive me of my complaining. Help me to listen closely to Your voice as You remind me that my complaining is a sin. God, give me the strength to weed out this sin and change my heart. Cure me of my cancer so that it doesn't eat away at myself and my family. “Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer (Psalm 19:14). Amen.