GRUMPY GRUMP....

My son's cat, "Rosebud," my grumpy model

If you have cruised through life without a grumpy moment, well, what planet did you come from? In my current “Gramma” role I am reminded that the grumpies are a common childhood malady (known to persist in adulthood). Aha, there's a verse for that. Actually, lots of verses. Exodus is riddled with rumbles and grumbles. (What, you're tired of manna? Only thing on the menu. You want to arrive at the Promised Land tomorrow? Sorry, won't happen.) Grr, grr, grr, grr, grr..... And a few hundred years later, after Jesus came and lived out the grumble-free life, one of His disciples repeated the lesson: “Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged” (James 5:9). The word translated “grumble” is from a Hebrew word for “groan.”

You know the word, and the attitude. “It's all about ME: my agenda, my preference, my vision for MY happiness, I shouldn't have emotional pain. Everybody should cater to me.” Sorry, but that attitude isn't God-endorsed.

The answer, I think, was expressed well by author-speaker Nancy Leigh Wolgemuth in her book Choosing Forgiveness (Moody, 2006). It's a tough-love book to challenge folks who want the world to revolve around them. Her discussion starts with this reality about pain being an inevitable part of life:

Everyone will get hurt.

Jesus' take on it: “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33).

Paul's re-take on it (to Timothy): “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12).

Everybody, she observed, endures some sort of life-pain, some worse than others. “We will all encounter situations,” she said, “that provide fertile ground for resentment and unforgiveness to take root and bloom in our hearts.” But don't stop at that; instead, embrace this principle:

The outcome of our lives is not determined by what happens to us but by how we respond to what happens to us. (Choosing Forgiveness, p. 41)

Take note of three key words: how we respond. Those who blame their unhappiness on life's unwanted circumstances or difficult relationships will slog through their years as unhappy “victims,” a mindset that will never allow them to know real, Christ-based hope or freedom.

Grumpy-grump? Or, “Thank you, Jesus,” “I trust You, Jesus,” “Help me, Jesus”? Authentically partnering with Him, and seeking His transformation of our character, will help win the war against the Grumps.