Four Things We Forget About God When We Complain

Why is it that we tend to give each other a pass when it comes to the sin of complaining? Is it because we’ve adopted the worldly assumption that everyone needs to blow off a little steam sometimes (“I’m just venting”)? Is it because we believe it’s better to be authentic instead of fake in the company of others (“I’m just saying” or “I’m just keeping it real”)? Is it because we think it will somehow change our circumstances? Whatever the reason, it is ultimately an excuse, given what God says about complaining in His word. 

In Exodus 16, when the people of Israel complain against Moses and Aaron, saying that they brought them into the wilderness to kill them (vv. 2–3), Moses points out that they are really grumbling against the Lord (vv. 7–8). Further, in Philippians 2:14–15, Paul shows us the gravity of complaining, by revealing the powerful impact of refusing to grumble. By not grumbling, the Philippians show themselves to be “blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.” The implication here is that complaining negatively affects your witness before the world.

God clearly doesn’t take complaining lightly, and neither should we. To this end, we need to define complaining. In his book, Stop Your Complaining, Ronnie Martin says, “[Complaining is] forgetting who God is.” When we complain, we sinfully express discontentment because we have not prioritized remembering God’s character and plan. What, then, do we forget about God when we complain? The list is long, but we will narrow it down to four things.

First, when we complain, we forget that God is our ultimate authority.

Consider the words of William Barcley on complaining: “It comes down to this: are we letting God be God, the Sovereign of the universe who orders all things for our good and His glory? Or, do we consider God to be at our disposal, providing for us and ordering our lives as we think best?”¹ When we remember that God is God and we are not, we don’t complain when He brings difficult circumstances into our lives. Instead, we respond to Him like Mary when Gabriel announced to her that she, as a virgin, would bear the Son of God in her womb: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

Second, when we complain, we forget that God has richly poured His grace upon us in Christ.

In Ephesians 1:3, Paul tells us that God has blessed us “in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (emphasis mine), but when we complain, we act like God has left us spiritually impoverished. As Stephen Altrogge says, “How often do we lift our heads from the buffet of God’s blessings only to voice a complaint?”² The truth is that on our worst day, because of God’s amazing love, we are God’s beloved children to whom He has granted all His precious promises. Absolutely nothing can separate us from His infinite love as He guards us through faith until we reach our inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading (Romans 8:38–9; 1 Peter 1:4–5).

Third, when we complain, we forget that God knows what is best for us.  Experiencing undesirable circumstances may provoke us to let go of sweet promises like Psalm 84:11: “No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”  Difficulty doesn’t feel good, so we grumble as if we define goodness. But conformity to Christ is far better than physical comfort or social approval, and God has tailor-made “all things” in our lives to achieve that purpose (Romans 8:28–29). When we remember this, instead of complaining, we trustingly say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that” (James 4:15). 

Fourth, when we complain, we forget that God has freed us from the sin of complaining.

Because we are united to Christ in His death and resurrection, we don’t have to complain. It’s not inevitable. In fact, because the enslaving power of sin has been “brought to nothing” and we have been raised to “walk in newness of life,” we have all the power necessary to renounce complaining in exchange for Christ-exalting contentment (Romans 6:4–11). Therefore, even when everyone else at work is complaining about the boss, you can choose to work hard with gratitude that God has given you a job. When the price of eggs has gone up again, you can choose to remind your spouse that God has always provided for the family.

Sadly, complaining is a sin that is all too common, but it doesn’t have to be…for you or for me. The solution is to remember our great God—who He is and what He’s done for us in Christ. For every temptation to complain, there is a truth in God to answer it…as long as we will refuse to forget. 

¹ William Barcley, The Secret of Contentment, p. 52.  

² Stephen Altrogge, The Greener Grass Conspiracy.