Stop the Whining Already!

by Texas Stready

My grandson Solace spends most of his time with me. No doubt he’s one of the greatest joys in my life, but as a three-year-old he’s still fully convinced that whining gets results.

All you have to do is surf the net, or watch T.V., to conclude that temper tantrums are a typical reaction in our society. Even when our age says we’re adults, we act like children when we don’t get our way.

As far back as the Garden of Eden we were complaining. What begins as a shoulder shrug often ends in a full-fledged fit of rage. Not a pretty picture.

Whining Alert

As Americans, our grumbling’s gotten way out-of-hand. We take life for granted. Everything from public transportation to Ted talks. And let’s not forget the vast spectrum of technological inventions we possess. We’ve got it all. The greatest country in the world. So why all the bellyaching?

Complaining and fault-finding are poisons that affect everyone they come in contact with. A negative thought or comment does more damage than a positive one does good. Sad but true.

Don’t believe me? Think back to a time when you worked your tail off to do something special for someone. Detailed your wife’s car, prepared a holiday dinner, or maybe charted out the optimal vacation. One “Why didn’t you?” can bring clouds to the sunniest of intentions.

Watch Your Mouth

Telling someone what they could’ve or should’ve done, means you’ve lost sight of what they did do. Could and should, have to do with yesterday and tomorrow. NOW—that’s all we’re guaranteed—and keeping in sight what’s right today rescues us from wrong thinking and heals our injured emotions.

Remember our attitude is formed by what we think, and our thoughts are made evident by what we speak. The Bible tells us, a person full of goodness in his heart produces good things; a person with an evil reservoir in his heart pours out evil things. The heart overflows in the words a person speaks; your words reveal what’s within your heart. Luke 6:41 VOICE 

Practice Different

We are responsible for what we say, but we are also in control of what we choose to believe. This tells me that if what I rehearse in my head is filled with hope and life, than one silly comment won’t have the power to break me.

We spend an incredible amount of time whining about what’s wrong instead of working to make things right. Well guess what? Change doesn’t just happen.

[box] Here are three practical requests God would love to answer for you.

*Ask God to show you five truths He says about you—write them down.
*Ask God to make these truth’s real to you—watch for them.
*Ask God to remind you when wrong thoughts go against these truths, then stand up and read #1 out-loud—walk it out.[/box]

It all comes down to this: do you want different bad enough to do the work?

Snap Out Of It

I realize the above phrase can be taken as a harsh statement that lacks mercy. This may very well be true when it comes from another person, but I’ve found that being matter-of-fact in my self-talk helps me believe that change is possible. If I can’t see it, I can’t be it.

I mean come on, stop the whining already. Instead of habitually believing the lies, fight back by repeating what’s true. This habit well absolutely transform you from a cowering, thumb-sucking Christian into the spiritual giant you’ve been called to be.