Leaving the Whine Country

“Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:14-15).

Wine is booming right now. Folks hang out at wine bars, attend wine tastings, and go on wine tours of the wine country. I love a glass of Merlot as much as the next guy. My Savior has been known to keep the party going when the Cabernet runs low. However whine is also everywhere these days. At home. At work. At church. It seems like we’ve taken complaining and snark to an art form. There’s just one little problem. Believers shouldn’t bellyache. About anything. It’s one clear way we stand out in a world full of moaners. Paul lets us know once Jesus comes to our rescue we leave the whine country. 

Hey, if anybody had a reason to grumble it would be the man with the pen in his hand. The apostle writes to his friends back in Philippi from behind bars in Rome. He’s in Caesar’s Supermax after being wrongly accused of stirring up trouble among the Jewish people back in Jerusalem (Acts 21:27-36). He’s spent the past several years in the joint just waiting for his case to be heard and eventually appealed his case to Caesar (Acts 25:11). Along the way, he’s survived a hurricane at sea, been shipwrecked, bitten by a venomous snake before being thrown back in the slammer once again. What he’s been through makes “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” look like a walk in the park. But take a listen outside Paul’s cell for just a moment. What do you hear? Not one bit of grumbling. Zip. Zilch. Zero. Now he writes to the followers of Jesus in Philippi. The best way to stand out from the rest of the whining world is to quit complaining.

I’m pretty sure the apostle left us a little wiggle room when it comes to grumbling. There must be a handful of things we can still gripe about. Let’s take a closer look, shall we? “Do all things without grumbling or disputing” (v14). Did he really write “all things?” Really? I can’t even complain about going to the DMV office? Surely he doesn’t mean calls from telemarketers. He must leave a loophole for those times I’m stuck in traffic and the interstate transforms into a parking lot. Nope. Sorry. “All things” (v14). A closer look at the Greek tells us Paul is talking about “all things.” As the old saying goes, “‘All’ means ‘all’ and that’s all ‘all’ means.” Trust me, I wish there a way around this too. We may have every reason to kvetch and moan. But we’re to follow the example of the One who came to pull us out of the mess we made. If the sinless of Son of God didn’t mutter under His breath as He was betrayed and murdered, what right do we have?

Just in case we’re unsure what “all things” we’re not to do, the man from Tarsus spells it out. “Grumbling or disputing” (v14). The first word is goggusmos, which means murmuring, muttering, or a complaint not openly shared complaining. This when we crank up a whisper campaign for those around us. We’re not grabbing a bullhorn and announcing to the world how jacked up the situation is. No, this is much more subtle and subversive. To paraphrase Governor Pappy O’Daniel from “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”, we’re not mass communicatin’. We’re one-and-a-timin’. We grumble to the person in the next cube about what’s going on. We whine to the folks in line at Starbucks. We rant on Facebook or Twitter. I’m looking for sympathy and support because I’m a victim. Look at poor, poor pitiful me. But maybe I’m the only one who does this. There’s no way you would stoop to anything like this, is there?

Paul tells us to steer clear of “disputing” (Gr. dialogismos). Notice how similar it is to the word “dialogue.” He’s talking about two people in an open argument. No whisper campaign here. This is blatant arguing. That’s EXACTLY the kind of garbage we shouldn’t find among God’s people. The apostle writes to his buddy Tim, “I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling (Gr. dialogismos)” (1Tim 2:8). He tells the church in Rome not to get into silly fights with folks who are immature (Rom 14:1). When it comes to arguing, remember that it takes two to tango. There are times to take a stand but does this dispute bring glory to God? Does it bring people closer to Jesus? Or is it simply throwing mud on the wedding dress of the Bride of Christ? More often than not, I need to let it drop. Or in the words of that great theologian Elsa, “Let it go!”

One huge reason for the followers of Jesus to drop the grumbling and disputing is to stand out from the rest of society. We avoid muttering and arguing “that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God, without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you will shine as lights in the world” (v15). Once we’re kids of the King, we have NOTHING to whine or complain about! When we stop griping, we’ll stick out from everybody else. Why doesn’t she bellyache about her boss? Why won’t he beef about his situation? Suddenly, we shine brightly in a very dark world. Jesus called us to be light shiners and salt spreaders (Mt 5:13-16). One key way we do that is stuffing a sock in mouths instead of calling the wambulance. Let’s be “the light of the world” and “a city set on a hill” (Mt 5:14) instead of Debbie Downer or the sultan of snark. Remember, once Jesus comes to our rescue we leave the whine country. 

Calling the Wambulance

“These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage” (v16).

Waaa! Waaa! Waaa! Everybody knows the annoying sound of the Wambulance. Yeah, I’m talking about the rescue squad for self-consumed complainers. Jude pulls no punches and calls whine-1-1 on the false teachers who’ve infiltrated the local churches. All they do is gripe, complain, brag, and blow smoke up people’s skirts to get what they want. So Jesus’ kid brother calls the Wambulance.

Jude calls it like it is. These hucksters are “grumblers” (Gr. goggustes). This Greek term describes a murmurer or complainer. You know the type. They speak in hushed tones and whispers. They quietly make it clear to everyone around them that they are victims. They don’t go to the source of their problem. Grumblers mount a whisper campaign against their enemy. There’s just one problem. That’s exactly what Jesus’ opposition did (Jn 6:41). Our Savior went so far as to tell His own followers to quit the whining. “Jesus answered them, ‘Do not grumble among yourselves’” (Jn 6:43). Moaning and groaning have been a big part of God’s people for centuries. It happened while they wandered in the desert (Ex 16:7-9; Num 14:27-29; 1Cor 10:10). And now a posse of false teachers have weaseled their way into local churches. They tear fellowships apart with rumor and innuendo at the water cooler. That’s when Jude calls the Wambulance. 

The con artists are just grumbling under their breath, they’re also “malcontents” (v16). The term here (Gr. mempsimoiros) paints an ugly portrait of one who complains about their situation, somebody who is dissatisfied with life, a constant blamer, a faultfinder, and a complainer. They’re completely dissatisfied. Just like Mick Jagger’s been singing for decades, “I can’t get no…satisfaction!” They’re just like Cain, Balaam, and Korah (Jude 11). That’s not exactly the sort of folks you want to be compared to. The glass isn’t half full. It’s half empty and somebody’s going to come by and knock it over. This is greed, pure and simple. You don’t care how much you have. You just want more. In particular, you want more than the next guy. Just in case you missed that whole greed thing, Jude clues us in that the false teachers are “following their own selfish desires” (v16). They only want what they want. They have absolutely no concern for anybody else.

Over the course of his amazing life, the Apostle Paul learned the lesson of godly contentment. He eventually came to know how to be content in every situation (Phil 4:11-13). He grew to be totally satisfied in his relationship with the resurrected Rabbi. The man from Tarsus told his friends in Philippi that everything else in his life was a big steaming pile compared to knowing Jesus (Phil 3:8). That’s one of the most convicting questions I have to ask myself: Is Jesus enough for me? Man, I don’t even like typing those words. I have to remind myself everyday that all I ever really need and want is in Him. I’m not all that different from the false teachers. Better call a second Wambulance!

The false teachers make sure everybody knows just how very special they are. Jude calls them “loud-mouthed boasters” (v16). The original text can be literally translated as saying “their mouth speaks great swelling.” In other words, what they have to say is bloated beyond belief. These arrogant braggarts constantly want everyone’s attention and adoration. “Look at me!” they pompously shout. They fill the air with words that are spiritually bankrupt. They sound great but have no lasting substance. Clearly Jesus’ little brother and the leader of the Twelve are talking about the same team of spiritual con artists. “For speaking load boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error” (2Pet 2:18). Do we really need a refresher in what God says about bragging blowhards? Nah, didn’t think so.

And if being whiners, complainers, self-seekers and braggarts isn’t bad enough, they have one more trick up their slimy sleeve. They’re “showing favoritism to gain advantage” (v16). The false teachers have a particular knack for figuring out who they needed to butter up. They’re looking for leverage. They’re looking for an advantage. They’re great at playing politics. The Apostle Paul had a particular bur in his saddle about these kinds of spiritual snake oil salesmen. “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive” (Rom 16:17-18). These false teachers may not know much about the Gospel but they know how to play the game to their advantage.

We could go on firing flaming arrows at these infiltrators but what good would that really do. Clearly they display qualities that are destructive to the body of Christ. So let’s turn it around for a moment. Let’s look in the mirror and see if we’re guilty of these charges. 

Do I grumble? Do I mutter under my breath then things don’t go my way? Clearly the Bible teaches that if I have a problem with someone, I need to talk to them directly. If I’m griping about a leader WHO IS NOT IN SIN, I need to submit to authority and be a good follower. Am I complainer? Am I constantly finding fault in everyone around me? I need to remember that every last one of us is in desperate need of a Savior. Am I only worried about what I want? Do I have an “I” problem? Jesus reminds us that the best way to finish first is to finish last. Am I a loud mouth braggart who calls attention myself? Last and certainly not least, do I stroke the folks who can do me the most good? Do I ignore those who can’t help me? Scripture is pretty clear that God certainly doesn’t play favorites (Acts 10:34). If it makes you feel any better, I don’t like anything of these questions either.

Check out the Message’s take on this verse. “These are the ‘grumpers’ the bellyachers, grabbing for the biggest piece of the pie, talking big, saying anything that will get them ahead” (v14 The Message). Don’t worry, the Wambulance should be arriving at any moment.