How are you? "Can't Complain."

What's your battle?  One of my continuing, ongoing, life-long battles has to be criticizing/complaining/judging.  All three of those things are facets of the same sin.  Sigh.  It's one of those things that I can't seem to get a handle on once and for all.

Maybe I need to draw a public line in the sand.  That seems pretty scary to me.  This idea came to me after reading a book by Phil Callaway called To Be Perfectly Honest.  The subtitle is "One Man's Year of Almost Living Truthfully Could Change Your Life.  No Lie."

The cover doesn't look like something I'd normally read, but I like humor, so I thought I'd give it a try.  I'm so glad I did!  Phil's publisher asked him to write a book about what it's like to go for entire year telling the absolute truth all day, every day, for a whole year.  And he even told his friends and family what he was doing.  That meant they could ask him all kinds of questions and he'd have to answer truthfully.  The results are funny, touching and revealing.  As a comedian, Phil has a way of saying things that made me constantly say to whoever was in the room, "Ya gotta hear this!  It's so funny!"  But he also deals truthfully with life situations like his mom's dementia and the betrayal of a friend.    And yes, the whole book is written from a Christian perspective and he's not afraid to deal with difficult stuff like anger with God.  The book ends up with Phil deciding that he's not ready to back down after a year.  Truth-telling is a way of life he comes to appreciate.

This brings me back to the criticizing/complaining/judging:  could I maybe just stop it for a period of time?  Like Phil Callaway, I'm sure I would find a commitment like this extremely challenging and there would be times of failure, but what an opportunity to learn and grow.  (If you think you are already totally honest or totally uncomplaining, I wonder...)  And just like striving for honesty, it's not like it should be an option for a Christian to strive for victory over complaining and criticizing!  We act like we "can't help it", but if God commands something, we are supposed to do it.  Let's see, what are some commands with regard to criticizing, complaining and judging?

Remember what happened to the Israelites after they complained about the lack of variety in their miraculous food supply?  They ended up wandering around in a desert for 40 years and missing out on the Land of Milk and Honey entirely.  Then there's Philippians 2:14  "Do everything without grumbling or arguing."  And Luke 6:37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven."  

Well, I'm not going to write a book right now... I'll just let you know how it goes.  And feel free to come right out and ask me how it's going.  Accountability is good.  I realize I haven't put a timeline on this, because I'm still concerned about a total crash and burn failure.  I'm a work in process-- a LOT of work!

Here goes... no more complaining about the weather, rising property taxes, hot flashes or stupid drivers. No criticizing people for not being up to my "standards" or judging them for having different opinions than mine.

Besides trying to develop a more Christ-like character, this should further my quest to be a sweet old lady someday.

The other day I asked a 5-year-old how old he thought I was.  He said "99."  (Then he asked when I was going to be 30 like his mom).  You see, the "old" part of sweet old lady is inevitable.  The "sweet" part is not a given.

By the way, the book review included in this post is in return for a free copy of the book from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers, but the review is honest and not swayed by this fact.