And the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, and when the Lord heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp.
(Numbers 11:1 ESV)
Some classrooms have a complaint box where students can place their complaints about anything and anyone, including their own teachers and each other. I’m not a supporter of this box for obvious reasons. A teacher who has one in her classroom shared how much students complain. (Hmm…I wonder why.) It seems to me as though these boxes have created more problems than solutions. I was in a classroom where a student, who had placed a complaint in the box, was still upset that his problem wasn’t solved. “Miss, you don’t know how many days I’ve cried,” he said with tears in his eyes. I told him to consider facing the problem instead of complaining about it. He nodded in agreement.
The Israelites were complainers. If it wasn’t bread, it was water. Nothing the good Lord did was ever good enough for them. Besides the exodus, I don’t hear them praising Him for anything else. When He could no longer take their grumbling, He put an end to it, as today’s verse shows (It looks like God wasn’t a big fan of the complaint box either.) He wants to help us face our troubles, not complain about them. So many people complain about their circumstances, but choose to do nothing about them. I like the quote which says, “If you don’t like where you are, move. You are not a tree.” In the Bible, God also told His people to move (Exodus 14:15). We would be wise to follow His advice. Get rid of the complaint box.
Rising with the Son 