Workplace whiners

Why me, Lord? Why do I always get stuck doing the grunt work? I do more and get less. And while I’m at it, Lord, I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired. I’m wearing myself down putting in more waking hours than anyone else in this company and no one even notices. And why are the lights so bright in here?

Do you ever find yourself in a real honest-to-goodness gripe session with God? Grumbling to God is good in that it shows dependence on Him. After all, if we have a complaint we should voice it to the One who cares about us more than anyone.

But in today’s workplace there’s been a shift in complaining. More and more we are justifying the gripes and granting ourselves permission to brazenly vocalize our dissatisfaction.

Issues such as company regulations, our boss, crazy colleagues and workload have been bothering us since man put tool to stone, but as time goes on we’re getting louder at it. Remember Mom shouting, “Quit’cher bellyaching”? The word “bellyaching” means to complain in a whining manner over and over again. The repetition and irritating sound it produces comes with force from way down in the belly. (OK, that part is my conclusion.)

And if you’re really observant, you’ll notice our gigs of griping always include faultfinding and can lead to insubordination and a defiant attitude at our jobs, not to mention the fact that our faces get distorted -- making us downright ugly.

God took the sin of complaining seriously. After 400 years serving as slaves in bitter bondage to Egypt, God used Moses to lead roughly 2 million Israelites out of their lives of slavery. Well, it wasn’t but a couple of months on the road and they began to question God’s motives. Yes, when the going got tough, it started a contagious snowball of whining and rebellion. Yet, in spite of their bellyaching, the Lord went before them every step. He opened the sea, kept them from sunburn and swollen feet, provided manna, (free bread from Heaven!) quail and water -- including the land He promised.

Unfortunately, the Promised Land came later than sooner. God had the people wander in the wilderness for 40 long years for their sins, one of which was complaints against one another and God.

Bottom line? Grumblings of complaint question God’s sovereignty in our life. It’s like saying, “God, you blew it.”

Numbers 11:1-2 says: “Now the people became like those who complain about adversity in the hearing of the Lord; and when the Lord heard it, His anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp.”

Today, while at work, spend more time on a solution, not the problem at hand. When negativity sets in, shift your focus on productivity and how you can model positive leadership. Bellyaching can weaken our faith@workas well as negatively affect those working around our influence. Charles Spurgeon put it so eloquently, “Faultfinding is dreadfully catching, one dog will set a whole kennel howling.”

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be that dog.