No Complaints Day

Some people love to complain. They complain about the temperature, or the food they've been served in a restaurant, or their boss, or their salary or something else. These complainers focus on what they don't have, or what they don't like, rather than finding something good in a situation.

The Bible makes it clear that complaining is a sin. It's easy for us to overlook this behavior in ourselves and accept it as a normal part of our lives, but God is very serious about it.

In my daily devotions recently, I read again from Numbers 16 about the rebellion of Korah. He was a Levite who complained about Moses' leadership and he stirred up a group of 250 leaders to oppose their God-appointed leader. Korah was a false leader because he was self-appointed. Frank Damazio wrote: "A self-appointed leader takes upon himself the authority and responsibility of a spiritual office to which he has not been divinely called." The consequences of this rebellion were severe. God caused the earth to open up and swallow Korah, several of his friends, and all their families and possessions. Then God sent a fire that consumed the 250 rebellious leaders.

Even after this dramatic scene, the people of Israel continued to complain. They complained about the food, the water, the desert, and their leader. God sent a plague to wipe out some of them. When Moses' sister Miriam complained, God struck her with leprosy. We're fortunate today that when we complain, God doesn't deal with us the way he did with the people in the Old Testament. Nevertheless, we should make every effort to avoid this behavior that God obviously detests.

If you find yourself complaining about something, ask God to forgive you and make a determination to look for something positive. I printed a sign for myself years ago that simply says, No Complaints Day. Let's try to make today a day with no complaints.

Good Citizenship Requires Involvement

I shared recently in a sermon that one of my passions is to see our church make a positive impact on our community and society by taking a stand for biblical values. One person didn't appreciate my comments and told me that he didn't share my passion for such things. I am not advocating that we endorse candidates or bomb abortion clinics or attack people with whom we disagree politically or philosophically. I just think it's important that we be aware of important issues in our society and not be asleep at the wheel when absurd or unbiblical legislation is being considered. For example, Colorado governor Bill Ritter signed a bill last month to provide gender-free restrooms. Do you really want men and women using the same public restrooms? In Gainesville, Florida an ordinance has been passed to allow transgender restrooms. In other words, a man who believes himself to be a woman can use the women's restroom. I don't know about you, but I think those are very bad ideas. I don't want my wife and daughters to be subjected to using public restrooms where a male cross-dresser or a potential rapist masquerading as one is in the same facility. A group of 30 pastors in Gainesville is now fighting this ordinance. I think as Christians we should be involved in what goes on in our society. We should be civil, but there is nothing wrong with signing petitions, writing to members of Congress or voting for individuals based on public policy issues. We not only have a right to vote, but we also have a responsibility to be involved in our culture. If you want to stay informed on issues that matter to Christians, I would encourage you to subscribe to updates from Family Research Council (http://www.frc.org/), American Family Association (http://www.afa.net/), and Focus on the Family Action (http://www.citizenlink.org/focusaction/).

One Musician Doesn't Make an Orchestra

One of our family's annual traditions that we enjoy is attending Concerts in the Garden with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. It is one of the most relaxing things we do. Sitting in a lawn chair or lying on a blanket listening to world-class musicians play outstanding film scores by John Williams is a great way to spend an evening. As I was enjoying the music and beautiful surroundings again recently, I was reminded of how important it is for members of an orchestra to play together. Each of them are excellent musicians by themselves. They could all play by themselves and it would be good. But how much better it is when they all play the same piece of music together. The harmonies that are produced make for an amazing performance. But even these professional musicians need a conductor to set the tempo and keep them playing together as one. Without the conductor, the performance would suffer. As Christians, we can isolate ourselves and "do our own thing." Or we can accomplish even more when we work together. But we must keep our eyes on the conductor. Jesus is our conductor. Let's follow his baton. We'll sound a lot better when we're in harmony with each other and follow the direction of the Maestro.