People Who Complain and People Who Are Grateful

Fr Varghese Parappuram V C

Theologians point out that this journey, which would have been completed in 40 days, took 40 years, because the Israelites were possessed with the spirit of murmuring instead of being grateful to God.    

The story of a housewife 

Jisha, her husband and her two children, were staying in a rented house. After a chat with the housewife, I understood that Jisha's mind was filled with complaints, grief, despair, anger and self-contempt. Jisha attributed all her sorrows to a root cause- being obliged to reside in a rented house. The financial straits resulting from the monthly payment of rent, the difficulty of having to move out, off and on, carrying their belongings, the strain of adjusting to new circumstances, and, above all, the disappointment of not procuring a house of their own- thus it went on-a never-ending list of complaints!
 
I put a partial break to this tale of woe by interrupting her with some queries. Thus some facts about their household came to light. Jisha's husband had a reasonably good job, he was healthy and respectable and loved Jisha and the children as his very life and took good care of them. No one in the family had any health problems. The son and the daughter were smart, good-looking, and brilliant. Though he could not save much, the husband had a well-paid job. In short, except for the fact that they did not have a house of their own, theirs was a family blessed abundantly by God. Yet, Jisha was not aware of these blessings. Neither did she take the trouble to thank God for them. On the other hand, her mind was filled with despair and grief that she did not possess a house. When praying, not only did she complain to God, but also blamed him at times. A person afflicted with the malady of murmuring!
 
We can see several people in our society who have the same characteristics as Jisha. They are never content. Rather they are constantly complaining. They never give a thought to the manifold blessings. of God. Instead, they make their life a burden by always lamenting what they lack. They become restless and unhappy over trifles.
 
It is not easy for such people who have this spirit of murmuring to receive greater blessings from God. Rather, there is the possibility that they may meet with more failures in life. The history of the Israelites in Exodus reveals this fact. What happened when the Israelite nation which received countless blessings from God, began murmuring against him, instead of giving him thanks? God led them out of Egypt, the land of slavery, into the land of Canaan flowing with milk and honey. Theologians point out that this journey, which would have been completed in 40 days, took 40 years, because the Israelites were possessed with the spirit of murmuring instead of being grateful to God.
 
How many favours God had bestowed on the people who were living in slavery! He listened to their cry and gave them Moses as their leader. Through several miraculous events, he delivered them from slavery in Egypt. He gave them shade during the day through the pillar of fire. He let fall manna from heaven for their food; fed them with quails to satisfy their desire for meat; quenched their thirst with water from the rock, revealed his love for them through the covenant and gave them commandments that would bring them life eternal. Despite these great blessings, what arose in the minds of the Israelites was only murmuring. "And the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes" (Num 1:1). "We remember the fish we ate in Egypt for nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onion, and the garlic"(Num 11:5).
 
The complaining grew worse and culminated in idol worship. They made a golden calf and adored it. Those Israelites, who murmured and rebelled against God, were duly punished. This is an indication of the punishment that comes to those who do not receive God's blessings with gratitude and glorify him. That we should be grateful children, is an exhortation that we see in the New Testament also (cf Lk 17:11-19; Col 3:15).
 

A grumpy disposition and a happy disposition 

Psychologists speak of two kinds of people. Negative emotions like hatred, despair, anger, fear, anxiety, envy, self-depreciation fill the mind of the first category. These people are constantly restive and unhappy. Failures and illness easily master them. The second category of people are filled with love, affection, patience, gentleness, joy, hope, and self-confidence. They are not necessarily perfect. They cultivate a positive attitude to life by accepting the essential limitations of life and rejoice in the blessings they have received. Such are the grateful people.
 
The entire life of a true believer will be a great song of gratitude. He has the experience of being enveloped by God's blessings wherever he may turn. He is inclined to constantly praise God for these blessings. There are people who are able to praise God even in the midst of external failures and disappointments, because they see the light of God's inscrutable plan in adversity. "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord"(Job 1:21), said Job, proving the mettle of his faith and providing us with an example of a positive attitude to suffering.
 
This does not mean that we should never express sorrow or make complaints. People are not made of stone or wood. Anyone will cry out when plunged deep in pain. It is just human to do so. The prophets (cf Jer 20:14-18;Job 3:1-26) and even Our Lord himself (cf Mk 15:34) did so. It is the basic negative attitude of being blind to the blessings given by God and constantly lamenting one's deficiencies and murmuring, that is deplorable.