No Complaints

“How long can you go without complaining? A few months ago, the pastor of a Kansas City church told people in his congregation he wanted them to test their limits. "The one thing we can agree on," said Rev. Will Bowen, "is there's too much complaining." And so he asked the group to give up complaining, criticizing, gossiping or using sarcasm for 21 days. People who joined in were issued purple bracelets as a reminder of their pledge. If they caught themselves complaining, they were supposed to take off the bracelet, switch it to the opposite wrist and start counting the days from scratch. Rev. Bowen said it took him three and a half months to put together 21 complaint-free days. Now, about a half a million people around the world have requested free wristbands to rise to the challenge.”

I copied the above paragraph from a website called “Daily Good,” http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?qid=2889 which, as you might guess, seeks to tell good news.

I like the idea of disciplining ourselves not to complain.  It reminds me of this little interchange of how-do-you-do’s that I’ve had umpteen times in my life:

          “How are you?”

          “Can’t complain.  Wouldn’t do any good if I did!”

There is the school of thought that if you complain often enough something will happen, as in “the squeaky wheel gets the grease,” but I’m fantasizing on what my life would be like if I never heard complaints, and even better if I never, myself, complained.  If I could only be like James in his letter, “Count it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you face various trials (James 1:2).” 

Any institution of human beings has its ups and downs, including gatherings of God’s people.  People have their preferences and agendas and have a tendency to complain if things are not to their liking.  What could be more human?  I suspect my wife would welcome hearing fewer complaints from me.  And what would it be like if our presidential candidates were required to not complain about each other for twenty-one days?  I can only imagine.

I have not challenged my congregation to a 21-day complaint-free challenge, at least not yet.  But could I do it, myself?  Could you?  How long would it take us to accumulate twenty-one consecutive complaint-free days?  Sounds worthwhile, doesn’t it?