Whine or Shine?

Fear, anxiety, worry, doom and gloom pervade our weary old world.
 
Negativity clouds the atmosphere over mankind. The world you and I live in lies in the grip of gripers, groaners, and moaners. Complainers, grumblers, blamers and whiners abound.
 
What is sad and shameful is that many of the most polished whiners are Christians.  
 
In the Bible, the Apostle Paul has something to say about how Christ’s followers should witness to a lost world searching for salvation.   
 
“Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may 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.”  Philippians 2:14-15
 
Paul’s exhortation to all of us who confess Christ as our Lord and Savior is simply this: DON’T WHINE, SHINE!
 
Paul hits the proverbial nail on the head. “Do all things without grumbling or disputing.”  Christians are to do all things (all things means ALL THINGS!) without whining! Christian character and conduct is to be whine free!
 
Let’s be very honest brothers and sisters in Chris. There is so much whining, complaining, grumbling, groaning, disputing, criticizing and judging in the holy bride of Christ.  
 
So why shouldn’t Christians whine? Because they are supposed to SHINE! God’s people prove they are His by shining in a whining world.
 
Whining is the way of the world. Complaining and grumbling is the order of the day. But Christians “appear as lights in the world”, a dark, lightless world whose generations are crooked and perverse. The children of God are to live above reproach (above accusation), be innocent and blameless—this proves we belong to God.
 
The proof of who God’s people are is in shining, not whining! Christians are the real deal when they shine and don’t whine!  
           
 
It is time for some straight talk. I HAVE DONE MY SHARE OF WHINING AND I AM ASHAMED OF MYSELF. Lord, forgive Steve Roll for whining when he should be shining.
 
People who are lost and struggling hear enough whining from the world every day. They certainly don’t need to hear whining from God’s people. Aren’t we supposed to be different? Don’t we have a message of hope that changes lives for time and eternity? How in the world will whining win the lost to Christ and the Kingdom of God? 
 
Some Thoughts About Whining and Shining.
 

• Whining is negative. Shining is positive.

 

• Whiners focus on themselves. Shiners focus on Jesus and others.

 

• Whiners look for what is wrong with life. Shiners look for what is right and good in life.

 

• Whiners focus on what they don’t have. Shiners focus on what they have and will have in Christ.

 

• Whining turns people off to the Good News. Shining turns people on to the Good News.

 

• Whining is a curse, not a blessing. It is easier to whine than to shine. Why? Shining takes effort, whining doesn’t.

 

• Whiners never win. Shiners win. Whining isn’t winsome. Shining is.

 

• Whining is not a good witness. Whining never wins anybody to Christ. Shining leads people to Jesus.

 

• The root of whining is an immature, carnal spirit that is ungrateful for all God has done.

 

• Babies whine and cry. Whiners are cry babies. Ouch! That hurts, doesn’t it whiny Christians?

 

• There is no worse confession than a complaining Christian. How can a Christian even think of whining when Jesus laid down His life to pay the price for our sin on the Cross and rose from the dead to give us victory over sin, Satan, death and the grave?

 

• Resurrection people have everything to shine and shout about and absolutely nothing to whine and pout about.

 

• Whiners can become shiners. They really can.

 
Chew on this for few moments.  As a professing Christian, to whine is to thrust an ungrateful fist in the face of a good and gracious God. If the church worldwide, would repent of whining, grumbling and complaining, revival would break out across our globe!
 
If you find yourself whining, do yourself and everyone else around you a great big favor and stop whining! That’s right. Make a conscious, deliberate decision to shine and not whine! Resolve with all your heart to be a shiner, not a whiner! It takes guts to leave whining ruts, but you can do it.

Shiner or whiner, you decide.
 
Fellow Christian let’s shine for Jesus at all times and not whine about anything.  
 
“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”                                                  Matthew 5:16
 
“Who is like the wise man who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man’s wisdom illumines him and causes his stern face to beam (makes his face shine).”  Ecclesiastes 8:1
 
A Word For Your Week: Stop whining, start shining!