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It’s amazing how fast your trivial concerns will disappear.Ok, so this might irritate, agitate, or even be a relief for some to hear. Feel free to agree or disagree. First off I don’t like listening to or hearing whining and I hate it when I do it. Even its definition invokes annoyance, especially when I think of “nasally complaining”  ugh.  :)  ”to utter a low, usually nasal, complaining cry or sound.” Before I go any further let me share some context.

Over the past 3 weeks my good friend Rob Chartrand, Senior Associate at Beulah Alliance Church has been preaching on being “True Faced” He did a great job and you can also check out his blog here. This past week, part three of the series, he spoke on “identity” and the reality that very few people know our identities. He spoke on the need to be vulnerable, to share who we really are, the good and the bad, and to trust the community around you. To allow them to walk with you. On the way home his sermon started a dialogue between Naomi and I. Let me explain.

Rob shared a story about a young girl he knew for a long time. She seemed happy, full of life, the joy of the party. It took years, but eventually she revealed her true identity. She was abused, raped and hardly knew who she was let alone that she was loved. There is a happy ending in that she was restored and now helps children going through similar struggles. We just debated the various nuances of why it took so “long” for her to let people know her “true” identity. Now I realize there are tons of reasons and much better ones than this, but we started discussing that perhaps people delay because of how annoying the people are who consistently complain. Or as I like to say, consistently whine. Now, I am a go get ‘em kinda guy. I’m not talking about drive, life circumstance, etc. I’m just talking about that some people need to whine week in and week out and perhaps those who have much more serious issues in their lives don’t want to share because they don’t want to be considered a complainer or whiner. Because just think about how annoying the complainers sound to those with major life issues that are walking alone.

Now on to our thought on that drive home.

Yes, please be “True Faced” and be willing to be vulnerable and allow me, others and/or the church to walk with you. Being vulnerable and walking with a community is NOT whining. It is extremely important for all of us to do. So if you have hurts, bottled up pain, please be brave and share, this post is NOT about you.

Now for the current and future complainers. Sunday is not the place for you to come week in and week out to whine, complain, view life through doom and gloom glasses. You have an inheritance far greater than you can imagine. Those with Christ have reason to be concerned with the world around them and trials that come their way. I realize that everyone goes through periods of life when we just whine. I’ve done it and will most likely do it again. But please someone, in love, tell me to smarten up and stop whining. Being true faced in this instant is to say, “I’m sorry God, I’m having a hard time being thankful. Please forgive me, I’m not trusting you. Please allow only wholesome and uplifting talk come out of my mouth. Friends, church, if I ever start complaining hear me out, once. After that please hold me accountable to start trusting God. Help me to see the good to be thankful.

Being true faced is being vulnerable and allowing people to walk with me, to hold me accountable.

True Faced is not permission for me to gripe week in and week out.

I hope I have loving and comitted friends who will be able to hold me accountable when I am just whining and using that as a cover from becoming truly “true faced.” Simply am I sharing hardship in order to be vulnerable and allow accountability & support into my life or am I complaining just to complain, to gain sympathy, to find someone to validate my bad attitude. Trials are a reality to walk and journey with together. Whiners don’t seem to want to start the journey to change, they just want a partner, preferrably another whiner.

James 1:2-3 – Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

You can listen to Rob’s sermons here.

Any thoughts? Am I way off? Feel free to agree or disagree. Just sharing a car conversation that I have still been thinking about.

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