Jump Start # 1754

Nehemiah 5:6 “I was very angry when I had heard their outcry and these words.”

  Nehemiah is a powerful book that shows leadership, cooperation, vision and the will and gumption to get things done. It needs to be a must read, probably once a year. In 52 days, the walls around Jerusalem went from rubble to being completed. It took longer than that to new build bridges over the Ohio River were I live.

Our verse today comes from a section where internal problems were slowing things down. Opposition arose from within the ranks. The people started complaining. There was a famine and the people were hungry. Some had to mortgage their homes and fields to buy grain. Others had to borrow money to pay the taxes owed. Then Nehemiah was pushing the people to get the project completed. That put them over the edge. They complained that they were being treated like slaves. Upset. Unhappy. Complaining. Pointing fingers. The wheels were coming off the project. The Nehemiah dream was quickly turning into a nightmare.

When Nehemiah heard all of this, he became very angry. That’s our verse today.

Nehemiah experienced what many people go through.

• Sometimes it’s in the family. A vacation is planned. Mama does all the research, planning, booking rooms and getting everything set. Just days before the trip is to begin, the complaining starts. Some don’t want to go. Some don’t like this or that. Why now? Why there? What was to be a family dream has turned into a nightmare.

• Sometimes it’s down at the church house where we find this. Plans are set for some teaching or classes. Tons of work is done. Everything is set to launch and then comes the complainers. They don’t like it. They drag their feet. They don’t want to participate. The dream becomes a nightmare.

• Sometimes it’s the appointing of new shepherds in the church. It’s talked about. It’s planned. Everything is set to go, and at the very last second, some raise their voices against the whole thing. It turns messy. The dream becomes a nightmare.

• It happens at work. Projects are planned, budgeted and mapped out. Days before everything is to begin, the complaining starts. Some don’t want to do this. Things are said. Feelings get hurt. The dream becomes a nightmare.

Nehemiah did more than just get angry. For some, that’s as far as it gets. People get mad at one another. Feelings are hurt. Words are said that shouldn’t be. Some quit. The forward progress is stopped. Momentum slows down. It’s time to go back into the huddle. Some scrap the plans all together. Some have learned, if you complain long and loud enough, they will stop what they are planning.

First, Nehemiah consulted with myself. Great thought. I am having a meeting with myself. He thought things out. He didn’t act impulsively. Put thought and listen to why some are complaining. Is it legit? Do they have a basis for what they are saying? Consult with yourself.

Second, Nehemiah contended with the rulers about the taxation. He confronted them. He saw that the people were being burdened. Something could be done and he directed his energies in that way.

Third, not only did he speak words to those rulers, but he used himself as an example. He did not tax the people like former governors had (15). He actually worked on the wall himself (16). He fed many people and did not charge the nation a food allowance (17-18), which he could have done.

In Acts 6, when a complaint arose because some of the widows were being neglected, the apostles looked into the matter and came up with a plan to make things better.

All of these thoughts bring us to three considerations today:

First, we need to see what complaining does. It is such a negative. It’s a cloud that darkens the mood and the spirit of others. Some seem to be bent on complaining all the time. They are not happy unless they are complaining. It’s the weather. It’s the prices. It’s the traffic. It’s the long lines. It’s the way their team is playing. It’s the temperature inside the church building. It’s who is leading singing. It’s the length of sermons. Unhappy. Unhappy. Unhappy. Nothing is ever right for these folks. If there is a problem, they will be the first to see it and the first to point it out to everyone else. They see problems. They are looking for problems. If there is a typo, they’ll find it. If there is dust, they will see it. If there is a paper on the floor, they know it before anyone else. Misery lives next door to complaining. They share the same property line. They go together. The complainers are compelled to share their misery with others.

Second, complainers too often point out what is wrong, but they do not want to help make things better. Find the problems is what they are about. Point things out so that someone else will fix things. Not my job is a quick and oft used excuse of complainers. It’s not my job to get involved. It’s not my job to do that. However, the complainers do feel that it is their job and their right to complain about what’s not right. In every family, every company, and in every church, there are those dedicated servants that go out of their way to try to make things right. They work tirelessly. They go beyond what is expected. They get little praise or recognition for what they are doing. They don’t have to do what they are doing, other than they want to make things better. They sacrifice tons of their own time, energy and often even money, to fix what the complainers are complaining about.

Third, there is a proper way to deal with problems. God doesn’t like complaining. The murmuring Jews got it from the Lord. They were not happy with bread from Heaven. They wanted meat. Then they wanted something to drink. God put up with them and provided for them until He finally stuck down some of those ungrateful hearts. He pulled the plug on many of them. They died. They died in the wilderness because they were not happy. They complained about Moses. They complained about God. They wished that they were back in Egypt. Unhappy. Unhappy. Unhappy. More than that, they were not thankful to the Lord. That was it, for God. Their miserable tongues stopped as God took their lives. Complainers are not content. Complainers don’t count their blessings.

I find it hard to write about complaining. It seems that I am complaining about complainers. But I hope you see what a negative experience complaining has upon others. It just kills the spirit of things. Does that mean, we just put up with things that are not right? No. But instead of always complaining, try to do what you can. When you see paper on the floor, pick it up. Maybe someone dropped it without knowing that. Pick it up without saying anything about it. When you see dust, quietly, behind the scenes, dust. Find solutions that are helpful and good. Work more and talk less.

Be an encourager. Be one that helps. Be one that people can count on. Poor Nehemiah. He had his hands full, and then his own people started to turn on him. Complaining can cause good people to quit.

So, before you start to say something, stop. Think. Consult with yourself. Can you fix it without saying anything? Then do it. Don’t toot your horn afterwards. Just do it. Complainers need to spend more time with Jesus. The heart of a servant is too busy to complain. They need to stand behind Isaiah who declared, “Here am I Lord, send me.” The complainer would write that verse, “Lord, send someone, anyone, but not me.”

Are you one to build walls of faith, hope and vision or are you one who points out the mistakes of others? Get off the sidelines. Don’t complain until you have put your own effort into things. Don’t kill the spirit of others because you don’t like the way they are doing things. Jump in there and show us how it ought to be done. It’s amazing how those who have never preached, can complain about preaching. Those who have never taught a class can complain about teaching.

The end of the story is that Nehemiah got the walls completed. He didn’t stop because some complained. We must complete the course and finish the race. We must.

Roger