Shining as Lights by Not Grumbling

Here’s an excerpt from Shining as Lights by Not Grumbling, Tim Challies’ contribution to the December issue of Tabletalk:

There are at least two kinds of grumbling that are popular in our culture today and that are a temptation to contemporary Christians. The first is what I refer to as “casual grumbling.” This is a pseudo-serious way of expressing discontent about other people, and it is most often done under the guise of humor. It’s meant to evoke a laugh, but the humor actually masks the fact that we have uttered dead-serious gossip destructive to Christian unity. Then there is what we might call “direct grumbling,” which eschews any guise of humor or attempt at respectability. Here we directly speak to one person about another person who is not present. Grumbling meets gossip as we openly complain about their actions or attitudes. Rather than following biblical guidance and speaking directly to a person who has offended us, we speak to anyone or everyone else. This invariably erodes relationships in the church and foments disunity.

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