Pivotal Moments

There are pivotal moments in life that are so important that they help us realign our priorities and readjust our direction in life. One such decisive moment came for me in my mid-twenties. I had been attending a very large annual conference for pastors for several years. The mega-church that hosted the event was impressive, and there were thousands of pastors in attendance. The pastor was a very charismatic person and a powerful speaker. The church had a remarkable array of different ministries to the community. Certainly, if the number of people who were interested in what this pastor had to say meant anything, then this was an important event.

During one of the events, the pastor shared a sermon that was very honed, entitled “The Carbon Copy Principle.” He said that for many years he believed that every person should try to be who they were meant to be, but that he had come to believe that was wrong. With observation, he realized that many people were floundering in life and they needed help. What they needed was to pattern their life after someone who was successful. Therefore, he had come to the important conclusion that every person who was struggling in life should find a good model and carbon copy their life to that model. Obviously, it seemed to be working for this man because he had a church of over 10,000, and in addition, there were thousands of pastors trying to copy everything about him.

The pastor emphasized his uncompromising commitment to preach the gospel and reach as many people as possible using a very dramatic story. He told about a talk he had with his young son, “Son, you know we have been to a lot of baseball games together, and we have had a lot of great times. Son, it hurts me to have to tell you that daddy has been to the last one because daddy now has to do what God wants him to do. God wants your daddy to win souls for Jesus.”

Although the speaker was very articulate and the illustration very dramatic (overly dramatic), it hit me the wrong way. The more I thought about it, the more I did not like it. The conference and the church were all very impressive—the numbers, the people, the ministries, the sermons, but this wasn’t for me. My pivotal moment came when I rejected the “Carbon Copy Sermon.” I determined I wanted to be at every event possible for my kids. The greater my commitment to God, the more available to them I wanted to be. That same day I determined to make my priority on being rather than doing. I would let what I did in life flow out of who I was. I wanted my marriage and family to be the number one priority in my life and ministry. Secondly, I didn’t want to be a copy of anyone else no matter how impressive they were. Furthermore, I did not want anyone to be a copy of me. Like Robert Frost many years ago, I chose the road less traveled, and I am grateful for where the journey has led.

The Antidote for Grumbling

Grumbling is one of the fastest ways to distort your vision and let in crippling discouragement. Complaining is really blaming someone else for what we don’t like about our own life. Instead of looking for what we appreciate, we focus on what we despise. Grumbling will sabotage a workplace, a church, a family, or any community because it is deadly and destructive.

When Moses led the people of Israel through the wilderness on their journey to the Promised Land, they had a very bad habit of grumbling. When things did not work out the way they hoped they would, they grumbled. If they were hungry or thirsty or tired or even if they wanted something different to eat, they would grumble. In Numbers chapter 11, the people began to crave other food than what they had to eat. They said, “We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost — also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!" (Numbers 11:5-6). It is amazing how selective their memory was of Egypt. They remember the abundance of fish at no cost, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. One wonders if Egypt was so wonderful, why did they ever leave it in the first place. Do they even remember the slavery, the harsh taskmasters, the endless brickmaking, and the construction of pharaoh’s slave cities? Their memory of the past was very faulty.

Not only do they remember Egypt in a way it never was, but they are also bored to death of eating manna every day. The manna was free and could be prepared many different ways, but that didn’t matter. Grumbling is contagious and easily passed on to others. Their distorted view of the past prevented them from seeing and appreciating the present, and it also completely robbed their future.

This habit of being completely discontented with what God has given to us is a persistent bad habit in our lives today. It is a refusal to recognize God’s gifts, whether they are the leaders, the gifts and talents of others, our own gifts, or the heritage and the whole lot we have been given in life. When we think more highly of the past than the present, more highly of where we came from than where we are, more highly of past companions than the ones we have now, it is a rejection of God’s provision for our lives.

Moses was so overcome with hearing the grumbling of the people. He also began to grumble to God about the grumbling. What he had done before in this instance was to pray for the people. As an intercessor, God responded to his prayers and intervened on behalf of the people. Grumbling is hard to listen to, and sometimes it infects all of us, as it did Moses.

The antidote for grumbling is found in seeing our God-given purpose. Only then can we look back and see the past in a way that benefits the present. Only then will we appreciate our present circumstances, the people around us, and yes, even our present challenges. Only then will we keep moving toward our God-given destiny. Instead of grumbling, let’s trying praying for the people and things we don’t like and allow God to help us see things his way.