Quit Your Whining

I walk out of my room in the morning and stand awaiting the elevator to stop at the 8th floor. A few others join me... "Oh my gosh, this elevator is soooooo slow", "Ugh, I wish my professor would cancel class", "Why do I have to be awake right now?"....

The elevator arrives. We join two others that have already boarded the shaft.

"I hate Mondays", "I hate everyday...", "I wish it were the weekend already", "I have way too much homework to do"....

My day persists. No big deal; I'm not gonna let a few grumps get me down! This day is mine and it's beautiful!

But when I get to class someone's sitting in my seat... So I start in.. "How dare that girl sit in MY seat. I sit there everyday. What was she thinking?!"

Now I've joined the bandwagon of complaining.. Bemoaning my very existence and lamenting my frustrations for the entire world to hear. I'm filling the air of my surroundings with negativity about a situation that is already out of my control... How selfish of me! How pessimistic. How rude.

I've just been so keen lately as to notice all of the sickening complaining of my peers. And it frustrates me to no end. Why, why, WHY do people complain so much about life?!

I'm gonna be totally honest; I used to be the same way, a total Negative Nancy blurting out my dissatisfactions for the world to hear. I didn't do it to be annoying; I just thought that if that's what I'm feeling, why try to hide it? I'm gonna be real about the way that I feel and the world is just gonna have to deal!

But here's what God's taught me over the years...

1. God is in control.

"Looks at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?"

Matthew 6:26-27

2. As believers, we are instructed to work cheerfully and diligently, without complaining of our tedious tasks because we're working for the Lord.

"Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ's return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless."

Philippians 2:14-17

3. God knows what the heck he doing.

"'Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line? What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?"

Job 38:4-7

To sum it all up, the Lord has shown me that, no matter how strange or weird or annoying life gets, he's in control. He knew what he was doing when he created the entire universe, so why should I worry now? He will take care of us. I must delight in him even when annoying things happen.

So let's do it!