James 5

Bible Passage:  James 5

“Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!”

~ James 5:9

I don’t think I have seriously considered this verse before.

But when I read today’s passage, I started to wonder… “Wow! This sounds serious… this act of grumbling!”

Now who has not complain and grumble before?  Singaporeans are well known for grumbling and complaining.

We grumble when the trains are late.  We grumble when the MRT gets too crowded.

We grumble if the weather is too hot.  And then grumble because the air-condition is turned down too low.

And don’t talk about politics!  That will bring about a totally new level of grumbles.

We just do not seem to be happy with our lot.

When things do not go OUR way, we tend to start grumbling very easily.

Even in church.  Maybe especially in church.

I am as guilty as the next person …

But today’s verse gives us this warning… “Do NOT grumble against one another…”

Why?

“Lest you be condemned”….

Some versions have it as “lest you be judged”…

And the one that is judging is THE JUDGE!  The Chief of Chief Judge.  The Lord Jesus.

How can we stop grumbling so much?

When we walk closely with Jesus, it’s easy to remember to love others the way that He does and to stop being so selfish – thinking that everything is about me.

When we walk closely with Jesus, we are reminded of how we are to be contented and that His grace is sufficient for us.

When we walk closely with Jesus, it’s easy to have His love and patience rub off on us – so that we will also treat others with love and patience.

When we surrender our all to Jesus – give Him our hearts and minds – we will always consider the needs of others more than ours.

We love because He first loved us.

And that is how we can stop grumbling 🙂