Regular nibbles from the Bible. . .come for a bite, leave with an appetite



May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight. (Psalm 19:14, MSG)

Sunday, January 27, 2013

CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS (Exodus 16)

You haven't been complaining to us--you've been complaining to God! (Exodus 16:8, MSG)

What would you think if the next time you called a business to complain about the service,  God answered the phone?

I don't know about you, but I've done my share of complaining this week. So when I read Moses's words to the Israelites, I said to myself, "ouch!"

They asked, "Why did you bring us out of Egypt in order to starve us to death?" 

Did they really doubt that the God who brought them through the sea on dry land before drowning the Egyptians was going to let them starve? Apparently so. 

It's easy to fall into the trap of basing on my faith on how I feel this morning. And this week I've had several bad days, days when I have had to wait for aides for an hour, and then listened to them grouch and complain as if taking care of me wasn't their job. 

So I complained about it. To other aides. To other residents. Did I accomplish anything? Not what I wanted. I got others upset as well, instead of lifting them up and encouraging them to gentleness and peacefullness and joy.

On top of that, I was really complaining to God. "Why did You stick me here, with these people who don't care about me?" 

It's not even true. Some of the workers might see me as little more than an item on their checklist, it's true, but they do work hard and try to take care of everyone. 

I don't need to be a doormat--but I can extend grace. And patience.

The good thing is, God listens. He's the person I should have "complained" to in the first place. 

And every now and then He sends a day like today when the night staff comes when called and the morning staff gets me up first instead of last.

My manna and quail from heaven. 



2 comments:

  1. (((Darlene)))Not complaining is very difficult sometimes!!

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  2. When I complain to a business or manufacturer (usually using an 800#) I have a sincere desire to inform them of problems with their products. They need to know - so I am actually helping them. This probably isn't the type of complaining you had in mind, tho'. ;)

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