Dear Church of the Open Bible,
Our family ecosystem is a bit unbalanced these days as Brittany is away at school this week. She is taking a modular course for her Master’s in Couple & Family Therapy. So it wasn’t that surprising to experience grumbling from my kids after school yesterday. It was interesting watching this attitude spread among them and then, even to me, as a neutral observer (not exactly). Can you believe it?!
Grumbling can point to many things, but usually, one of them is a lack of gratitude; a lack of appreciating what we have already been given. In Numbers 16, Korah and his sons grumble and rebel against Aaron’s God-given role as priest. Listen to how Moses describes them.
And Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: is it too small a thing for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do service in the tabernacle of the LORD and to stand before the congregation to minister to them… Numbers 16:8–9
Korah and his sons wanted more. “Is it too small a thing for you?” Those words pierce the centre of a grumbling heart. Trust me, I know. So during supper last night, we decided to combat our selfishness. While we ate, we took turns saying something that we were grateful for, with the caveat that you couldn’t say something that had already been mentioned. It was amazing to see our grumbling dissipate as we saw how much we have.
As believers, it is no small thing to be united with Christ. Because of Him we are rich beyond measure! Take time today to fortify your soul against grumbling, with the gospel.