New Oxford American Dictionary: Bitch (bich), intransitive verb: To express displeasure; to grumble – to complain. The essence of complaining is Self demanding what Self thinks it deserves. C.S. Lewis in his book “The Problem with Pain” used the word “pain” to define any experience, either physical or mental, which one dislikes. The Apostle Paul used the Greek word “thlipsis”, whose etymology is to crush as in a wine press, in much the same way as Lewis to denote trouble, affliction, difficulty, suffering, anguish, tribulation, adversity, in short... pressure, what Jesus called the narrow gated “difficult” road that leads to eternal life. If we expect automatic blessings from God, we are a couple thousand years too late. The covenant of The Law was a Law of Linearity covenant where obedience always brought blessings and disobedience always brought cursings... always, two choices with two results, predictably linear. Health and wealth, Your Best Life Now, were Old Testament promises given to a nation... Israel, God’s chosen people, as a reward for obedience. These promises of blessing were never individual unalienable rights... never entitlements, seldom achieved on the national level, and thus the constant bitching of God’s chosen people.
The covenant of The Law served its purpose and has been replaced with a new and better covenant... a new and better way, the Jesus way, the way of adversity, the way of the cross... the way of inexhaustible Grace. Self loves good things, circumstances it likes, and hates bad things, circumstances it doesn’t like... pain to use Lewis’ synonym, and is very subjective about its categorizing of life’s circumstances. Self justifies itself in complaining by failing to draw into clear perspective the comparison of our circumstances with what we really deserve. We really deserve Hell, and the way of the Cross is the only way to avoid Hell’s eternal torment. In Bible times Gehenna was the name of the city dump in the Valley of Hinnom which lay to the south and southwest of Jerusalem. The garbage burnt 24/7 with flames and smoke and stench and constantly replenishing maggots – the Bible speaks of the worms in Hell that never die... Gehenna is the Greek word for Hell. One could stand on any of the hills in Jerusalem and get a vivid picture of that place of eternal torment and separation from God... we deserve Hell.
We must “learn in whatever state we are, to be content.” (Phil. 4:11; 1 Tim. 6:8) The reality of God’s completely unmerited favor invalidates any claim to complaint, replacing it with the contentment of His unchangeable presence... never leaving or forsaking us in our circumstances (Heb. 13:5). God is in control... the speed bumps on the thrashing floor of life have a divine purpose... our transformation, and God will bring good out of bad... according to His purposes. It matters not how dire our earthly circumstances may be, compared to what we deserve... Hell, they are a blessing in disguise. When tempted to bitch about life’s circumstances, put on the garment of praise... worship God instead.
You owe me nothing
I deserve death
You owe me nothing
But You’ve given me mercy
Praise the Lord
Oh my soul
Praise the Lord
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