It's Not As Bad As That

  If anyone had reason to complain about his work in the church it was Paul. In 2 Corinthians 11:25-28, we read about some of what happen to him while doing the Lord’s work. It says, “Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes.  Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.”   

  We might complain about the bed on the mission trip, but Paul didn’t have one. We might gripe because there was not enough food to go back at the potluck, but he went without meals. We rant when the building is too hot or cold, Paul was outside left to the elements. We bemoan the difficulties of riding in a van, Paul traveled by sailing ships that had failed him 3 times and even had left him in the frigid sea.  We fuss when any little thing in our work isn’t exactly perfect; Paul was beaten, whipped and stoned for his work. Did he complain?  In 2 Corinthians 12:10, he said, “Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” Paul knew that the work of the church was more important than his discomforts . Next time we are going to complain about something let’s ask ourselves, “Is this really something worthy of complaint?