The Sin Of Murmuring

So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the %k hole congregation said to them, 'If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall b% the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?"' (Num. 14:1-3)

In the above text the Israelites murmured against their gracious and lovin_g God. Needless to say, their murmurings displeased Him. Sadly, many Christians are murmurers and complainers. In the home, on the job and in the local church they grumble, murmur and complain. They can see nothing good. To them, everything is bad -- their life is miserable and they want to make it that way for everyone else. To murmur means to grumble or whine. It is not wrong to complain if correction is needed, but there should be no murmuring.

The Grecian widows in Acts 6:1-5 had a just complaint. They were being neglected in the daily ministration. It was in order for them to complain but not to murmur. In relation to the local church, if you have a just complaint about services, the temperature of the building, the singing, the song leader, the elders, the preacher, Bible classes, etc., a complaint is in order. But if it is not corrected as you would have it, do riot murmur. Such murmuring is wrong.

There are several examples of the sin of murmuring in the New "Testament, like the parable of the laborers in the vineyard (Matt. 20:1-16). They murmured because they had worked all day while others who had worked for a much shorter period received the same wages. They had received their just due but they still murmured. 'File scribes and Pharisees murmured against the disciples of Jesus because they ate and drank with publicans and sinners but they were really striking out at Jesus (Luke 5:29-32). They did not care that the publicans and sinners needed Jesus. They were only concerned with their personal agenda.

If we were to summarize the general tone of these examples it would be fair to conclude that when the behavior of Jesus was not according to what they thought it should be, they murmured. There is not a single one of us who appreciates murmurers. When another person engages in this sin, we see its ugly quality. Trust me, it does not look any better on us.

Make no mistake, murmuring is sin. "Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world" (Phil. 2:14-15). "Be hospitable to one another without grumbling" (1 Pet. 4:9). It causes one to perish (1 Cor. 10: 10). Sadl_y, murmuring is one of the most prevalent sins among some brethren. "Those who would never think of committing adultery or murder are guilty of this sin. Some, who have the highest morals, adhere most closely to doctrine, negate all the good things they do by whining. Eric