Thing 6 – WE WORRY AND COMPLAIN
A good definition of worry is “negative meditation”. Meditation is thinking a thought over and over. If the thought is good as in Philippians 4:8, it will bring Joy to our lives. If the thought is negative (harmful or speculative) it will steal our joy. Consider this prayer.
God grant me the serenity
–Reinhold Niebuhr
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
Matthew 6:25 & 31
Notice the command words “do not”. Hi-lite
- :25 “do not worry”
- :31 “do not worry”
Underline
- :25 “your life”, “what you will eat”, “what you will drink”, “what you will put on”
- :31 “what shall we eat?”, “what shall we drink?”, “what shall we wear?”
- Notice the question. Put brackets around it
Most of the things we worry about never even come to pass. There is no faith or trust in worry. We can be concerned about someone or a situation without worrying about it.
Concern is to see a situation which causes one to care and feel distressed about it. Worry is being uneasy or anxious about something. Concern leads to action, worry does not. (from the website “difference between.com)
from the website differencebetween.com
2 Corinthians 11:28
Hi-lite “my deep concern for all the churches”
Paul was not worried about the churches, but he was concerned. He did not sit around feeling uneasy about them, He took action.
If worry is negative thinking, complaining is negative talking. The biblical word for complain is “murmur”.
It wasn’t the heathen who were noted for their complaining. It was God’s people, the chosen ones, the ones who were supposed to be righteous examples to the heathen. Are we like that today? Are we known for our complaining? Think about the harm complaining does. One person starts complaining in the church and the next thing you know, others have that same opinion and attitude.
Read Deuteronomy 1:26-27, Psalm 106:24-27 and 1 Corinthians 10:1-12.
Hebrews 10:24-25
Fellowship is key to living a successful Christian life.
Hi-lite
- :24 “consider one another”
- :25 “assembling of ourselves together”, “exhorting one another”
- Circle the contrast word “but” in verse 25.
- What 2 things are being contrasted?
Underline
- :24 “stir up love and good works”
The opposite of complaining might be exhorting. To exhort someone means to build them up. The opposite would be tearing them down, which is what complaining does, it is discouraging to those around us. I challenge you to try to go one day without complaining. It is harder than you think!
John 6:43
- In the margin write “stop complaining”
Philippians 2:14-16
Underline the command beginning with “DO”
- :14 “Do all things without complaining and disputing”
- Circle the reason word “that”
Put brackets around
- :15 “you may become”
Hi-lite what we can become and do when we don’t complain or dispute
- :15 “blameless”, “harmless”, “children of God”, “shine as lights”
- :16 “holding fast the word of life”
1 Peter 4:7-9
We are living in the last days.
Underline the statement
- :7 “the end of all things is at hand”
- Circle the word “therefore” and consider what it is there for.
Hi-lite the things that we should do.
- :7 “be serious”, “watchful in your prayers”
- :8 “have fervent love for one another”
- :9 “be hospitable”, “without grumbling”
Peter adds “without grumbling” to these things that we should do because doing anything with a bad attitude negates the good it does. Can you imagine Jesus grumbling or complaining?
We have been looking at things that can steal our joy. My good friend and sister in Christ Judy Hughes added one more thing…..Fear. We will study that on day 12 of this study.