Philippians 2:14 NASB95
Do all things without murmuring or complaining;
I don’t know about you, but that seems like a ridiculous verse because complaining is pretty much something most people do a lot of. Now understand verse 14 is not a request. Grammatically, it is a COMMAND. Even though that might seem like a ridiculous thing to require from us, it is obviously not something ridiculous to God, or he would never require it.
Let’s start this way. First, it is always imperative that we remember what our primary calling is as a Christian. Our calling is Christlikeness. It is the predestiny of every believer, according to Romans 8:29. Secondly, we have to remember that Christlikeness is not an imitation of Jesus. It is a participation in and a manifestation of the life of Jesus that we have been grafted into. Thirdly, Jesus never complains.
Notice that the command to not murmur or complain covers a lot of ground because it says, “Do ALL THINGS without murmuring or complaining.” Again, Jesus never complains, and for the Holy Spirit to order us not to must mean that Jesus is simply inviting us to surrender to His non-complaining life in us. It may sound challenging, but like everything else about Jesus that He asks us to surrender to, it is so extraordinarily liberating, not just to the one who stops complaining but also to all the others who had to listen to it. A non-murmuring or complaining life shines. Philippians 2:14-15 “Do all things without grumbling or disputing; [15] so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world.” Also, you’ll find that you have a lot more extra time on your hands to do something joyful with 🙂