Containing Complaining

I'm a complainer. It's a gift of mine. I've been known to complain about all kinds of things. Here is just a small list of things I've mouthed off about either in the past or recently:

My car, friends that disappoint me, my extended family, my finances, my health, a meal, a waiter or waitress, a boss, a team member, a task that had to be done.......and that's just a few that come out of my mouth.

At the heart of my complaining is a heart full of discontentment. It's about not getting my way or exactly what I want. The key to killing this cancer of discontentment is allowing God to give us an infusion of gratitude. We need a reminder that "every good gift comes from God" (James 1:17). You see discontentment at its core comes from a belief that we are entitled to get what we want or what we think we deserve. We stop being grateful when we think we're deserving.

When I look at cross however it robs me of thinking I deserve anything. The price Jesus paid on the cross for my sin shuts my mouth. I've got to come back to the cross daily and be reminded that Jesus took upon himself what I did deserve to give me what I do not.

The cross on my mind stops the complaining on my tongue,

Nathan