“All complain — princes and subjects, noblemen and commoners, old and young, strong and weak, learned and ignorant, healthy and sick, of all countries, all times, all ages, and all conditions.” – Pascal

If Pascal is right, then how do we keep from this annoying tendency in our daily lives and from the lives of people around us because the act of complaining pervades through various socioeconomic classes, cultures and epochs. In fact, the mere instance of complaining being present over such a broad spectrum in life suggests that the existence of a universal thread which can be identified and thereby clipped so as to remove the pretense of complaining. If we look at the Book of Proverbs, there is a way by which we can remove complaints from our lips– contentment in the small things.

Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God. (Proverbs 30:8-9) Jesus teaches the disciples to ask God for their Daily Bread and this prayer is recited by Christians everywhere without understanding the twofold nature of what is really being asked. The first thing and most obvious is that we be fed. People who have ever eaten and known what it is to be full surprisingly become agitated when they are hungry. For real! Have you ever tried working with a hungry person? They are irritable! Secondly, the more important reason is so that people will understand that there should be no complaining from the hand that provides. Notice the language here in this proverb– it is one of receiving without any reason for receipt. It is the embrace of humility. We are so arrogant to think that we earned anything, as if we’re entitled to it and so we complain like we’re justified. We need to stop complaining about our lives, the things we have and the things we don’t have. Rather, we need to pray for receiving just what we need to rely on God for our everything. We need to ask God to give us exactly what we need so that we don’t do something hideously unrighteous. We need to break the cycle Pascal describes as the human condition. We need to take the cues from the writer of this proverb and ask for two things for our lives: Truth and Contentment. I believe God will give us these things and in receiving them, we will understand that we should not complain, because we don’t have the right to do so. We receive without earning, and as such a freely receiving people, we need to stop complaining and receive our lives with gladness and contentment because God sustains us and we know the Lord provides in our prayers of petition to Him.