One of the reasons I really like the Old Testament lesson is that it rings true. It sounds authentic. In just one of the stories the Israelites are trudging through the wilderness and they are having a bit of a whinge. This is not the first time or the last time they grumble. They whinge about the lack of bread, they complain about the lack of meat, Moses goes up the mountain to pray and he is gone far too long.
Today the complaint is water. More specifically there is none. Now when you have a whinge you complain to your fearless leader, to God, or both. In today's reading it’s Moses who must go to the front desk of the complaints department. Poor old Moses must have wondered why he ever signed on for the job. His first line of defence is to ask them to take a good hard look at themselves. ‘Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?’ But the people will not be assuaged.“Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?” Somehow they have conveniently forgotten that they were slaves in Egypt and they had a pretty hard time of it. Pharaoh was not a generous and compassionate boss.
So then Moses does the only lovely and logical thing and kicks it up stairs to God.‘What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.’ That’s when God answers Moses and the whole striking the rock and the water gushing out thing happens. Moses calls the place Massah ("Testing") and Meribah (“Contention")!
This whole sorry incident was so significant that is echoed later in psalm 95. Today, if only you would hear his voice,“Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness,where your ancestors tested me; they tried me, though they had seen what I did. The story is a powerful lesson about what NOT to do. And that is whinge.
A few things about whinging.
First there is a big difference between going to someone in confidence and just venting, which in turn enables you to move on. This is not what the Israelites were doing to Moses. They were grumbling persistently, frequently and loudly.
Secondly, I have to fess to up and say that clergy are just as good as whingers as anyone else and sometimes they are better than most. The preacher always preaches primarily for themselves and then for everyone else.
Thirdly and here we are getting to the nub of why whinging is not good for you, whinging makes you forget the good things of the past. In this case the Israelites had forgotten that God had rescued them from the heinous clutches of the nasty Pharaoh. They had forgot about the mysterious and wonderful crossing of the Red sea. They forgot all the other wonderful things God had done for them.
So whinging robs you of being Thankful. If you’re persistently whinging about God’s track record, you are certainly not giving Thanks which is a really important part of prayer.
Similarly whinging also robs you of the future. It denies you the possibilities of what might lie ahead. We’re too focussed on the here and now. The right here and the right now. Nothing else.Or as one person from internet world eloquently put it“Grumbling myopically zeros in on the present. It embodies an inward-turning, selfish approach centred on the now.” And just as forgetting God's activity in the past robs you of thankfulness, so to being blinkered to God’s potential in the future, robs you of hope. And the wilderness where there is no hope or thankfulness, is a very dark place to be. We can get to that place very quickly by persisting in whinging.
Something else about whinging. Whinging creates doubt. Notice the last line in the reading. “The Israelites quarrelled and tested the Lord, saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?” Doubt is one of those fiendish implements the devil uses subtly and swiftly. He niggles and wriggles, agitates and stirs. He keeps the doubts bubbling, simmering away, often without us realising it. When we whinge we are left doubting. We doubt God, “Why did God bring us out to perish in the wilderness.” We doubt others “This is all your fault Moses you incompetent old fusspot” and tragically we doubt ourselves. “If we had been good boys and girls then we wouldn’t be in this mess”.
The final thing about whinging is that it is terrifyingly infectious. By persistently passing on our whinges to one and all, we not only cement ourselves into the present, but also others. I lived in it at theological college for a little while and as a very naive 22 year old, I didn’t realise how venomous a whinge can be.
So there you go; A whinge about whinging. Do not forget the good things the Lord has done. Reach out and embrace your potential in the future. Realise that God is already in your here and now.