One of the best examples of “whining” that I have ever read is found in the Hebrew Scriptures – Numbers 11:4-23. Following is that text as it is presented in Eugene Peterson’s The Message*:
The riff-raff among the people had a craving and soon they had the people of Israel whining. “Why can’t we have meat? We ate fish in Egypt – and got it free! – to say nothing of the cucumbers and melons, the leeks and onions and garlic. But nothing tastes good out here; all we get is manna, manna, manna.”
Manna was a seedlike substance with a shiny appearance like resin. The people went around collecting it and ground it between stones or pounded it fine in a mortar. Then they boiled it in a pot and shaped it into cakes. It tasted like a delicacy cooked in olive oil. When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna was right there with it.
Moses heard the whining; all those families whining in front of their tents. God’s anger blazed up. Moses saw that things were in a bad way.
Moses said to God, “Why are you treating me this way? What did I ever do to you to deserve this? Did I conceive them? Was I their mother? So why dump the responsibility of this people on me? Why tell me to carry them around like a nursing mother, carry them all the way to the land you promised to their ancestors? Where am I supposed to get meat for all these people who are whining to me, ‘Give us meat, we want meat.’ I can’t do this by myself – it’s too much, all these people. If this is how you intend to treat me, do me a favor and kill me. I’ve seen enough; I’ve had enough. Let me out of here.”
God said to Moses, “Gather together seventy men from among the leaders of Israel, men whom you know to be respected and responsible. Take them to the Tent of Meeting. I’ll meet you there. I’ll come down and speak with you. I’ll take some of the Spirit that is on you and place it on them, they’ll then be able to take some of the load of this people – you won’t have to carry the whole thing alone.
“Tell the people, Consecrate yourselves. Get ready for tomorrow when you’re going to eat meat. You’ve been whining to God. ‘We want meat; give us meat. We had a better life in Egypt.’ God has heard your whining and he’s going to give you meat. You’re going to eat meat. And it’s not just for a day that you’ll eat meat, and not two days, or five or ten or twenty, but for a whole month. You’re going to eat meat until it’s coming out your nostrils. You’re going to be so sick of meat that you’ll throw up at the mere mention of it. And here’s why. Because you have rejected God who is right here among you, whining to his face, ‘Oh, why did we ever have to leave Egypt?'”
Moses said, “I’m standing here surrounded by 600,000 men on foot and you say, ‘I’ll give them meat every day for a month.’ So where’s it coming from? Even if all the flocks and herds were butchered, would that be enough? Even if all the fish in the sea were caught, would that be enough?”
God answered Moses, “So, do you think I can’t take care of you? You’ll see soon enough whether what I say happens for you or not.”
In this text everyone – including God – seems to be whining. It seems to me that part of surrender is a willingness to try not to whine. Much that people whine about are remembrances of past situations and may well be avoided – or at least minimized – by living fully in the present.
Let our prayer be, “O God, give me the discernment not to whine” – or – as put so beautifully in the beginning lines of the Serenity Prayer:
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.**
*http://www.thevoiceforlove.com/serenity-prayer.html
**http://www.amazon.com/Message-Contemporary-Language-Testament-Proverbs/dp/1600061354/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1307714188&sr=8-1
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