No Benefits in Complaining

Philippians 2:14-15 (NIV) Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, "children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation." Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky. In our part of the country, we have experienced many storms that included snow and ice in the past few weeks. Many people have fallen and injured themselves, schools have been closed for the past several days, and many churches did not have worship services on Sunday. There were, however, hundreds of workers who were deployed from other states to our area who made huge sacrifices to trim trees and restore power very quickly. The weather affects all of us, and is often a very common way to open conversations. Having many personal interactions each and every day, I have noticed a lot of grumbling and complaining about the long, harsh winter. I don't think most people regard these comments to be formal complaints, but as Christians we must be careful what we say and how we say it. Ephesians 4:29 (NIV) Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Dear Friend, as the scriptures have instructed, we must be careful to say things that are uplifting to others. Our weather conditions will occur with our without our approval. Whether the famous groundhog was right or not on Feb 2, our weather will be what the weather will be. Let us offer praise to God for the beauty in the storm, and remember that He is and has always been in control of our lives. Blessings to you, Dave Henry