The document discusses the negative impact of complaining, equating it to scratching an itch that worsens conditions in various aspects of life, including relationships and health. It references scripture that encourages a positive mindset and warns against grumbling, illustrating the Israelites' complaints in the desert as a historical example of this behavior. Ultimately, it contrasts the Israelites' situation with the present believer's position, emphasizing transformation through faith in Christ.

5. Complaining
is like
scratching
an itch.

6. The more you
complain
about your
husband, the
worse he gets

7. The more you
complain
about your
wife, the
worse she gets

8. The more you
complain
about your
job, the worse
it gets

9. The more you
complain
about your
health, the
worse you

10. Proverbs 17:22
(NIV2011)
A cheerful heart is
good medicine, but a
crushed spirit dries

13. Hebrews 11:25
(NIV2011)
He chose to be
mistreated along
with the people of
God rather than to
enjoy the fleeting

14. Philippians 2:14–15 (NIV84)
Do everything without
complaining or arguing, so
that you may become
blameless and pure,
children of God without
fault in a crooked and
depraved generation, in

15. Philippians 2:14–15
(NIV2011)
Do everything without
grumbling or arguing,
so that you may
become blameless and
pure, “children of God

16. Onomatopoeia

17. Philippians 2:14
(KJV)
Do all things
without
murmurings and

21. Romans 12:21
(NIV2011)
Do not be
overcome by evil,
but overcome evil
with good.

22. Principle of
Replaceme
nt

23. Matthew 12:43–45
(NIV2011)
“When an impure spirit
comes out of a person, it
goes through arid places
seeking rest and does not
find it. Then it says, ‘I will
return to the house I left.’
When it arrives, it finds the

24. 45 Then it goes and takes
with it seven other
spirits more wicked than
itself, and they go in
and live there. And the
final condition of that
person is worse than the
first. That is how it will

25. Nature
abhors a
vacuum.

29. Philippians 4:8 (NIV2011)
Finally, brothers and sisters,
whatever is true,
whatever is noble,
whatever is right,
whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable—
if anything is excellent or
praiseworthy—think about such

30. “It is not the
critic who
counts; not the
man who points
out how the
strong man
stumbles, or
where the doer
of deeds could
have done them
better. The credit

31. There is much
that is true,
noble, right, pure,
lovely, admirable
and excellent…

45. Exodus 16:1–5 (NIV2011)
The whole Israelite
community set out from
Elim and came to the
Desert of Sin, which is
between Elim and Sinai,
on the fifteenth day of
the second month after

46. 2 In the desert the whole
community grumbled against
Moses and Aaron. The
Israelites said to them, “If
only we had died by the
LORD’s hand in Egypt! There
we sat around pots of meat
and ate all the food we
wanted, but you have brought

47. The expression of
their complaint
verges on the
blasphemous. It is
tantamount to
saying that they
wished they had
never been saved by
the Lord but had
perished like so
many of the
Egyptians during the
plagues. They

48. Luke 9:62 (NIV2011)
Jesus replied, “No
one who puts a
hand to the plow
and looks back is fit
for service in the
kingdom of God.”

49. Whining
was
Israel’s
besetting
sin.

50. It started when
Moses first went
to Pharaoh and
the Israelites
complained that
he was making
their job harder
instead of easier.
They grumbled at
the Red Sea,
where they
accused Moses of

51. They were even
more bitter at
Marah, but the
complaining didn’t
stop there. The
Israelites wandered
for forty years, and
they grumbled
their way through
most of it. By the
time they reached
the Desert of Sin,
they were an

52. We are
just like
them.

53. We are NOT just like
them…
•We are on this side of the
cross.
•We are on this side of the
resurrection.
•We are on this side of the
coming of the Holy Spirit.

54. 2 Corinthians 5:17
(NIV2011)
Therefore, if
anyone is in Christ,
the new creation
has come: The old
has gone, the new

55. We are
just like
them.

56. We are
NOT
just like

59. Romans 6:6–7 (NIV2011)
For we know that our old
self was crucified with
him so that the body ruled
by sin might be done away
with, that we should no
longer be slaves to sin—
because anyone who has
died has been set free

60. We are
just like
them.

61. We are
NOT
just like

62. Romans 6:11
(NIV2011)
In the same way,
count yourselves
dead to sin but
alive to God in

63. We are
just like
them.

64. We are
NOT
just like

65. Galatians 2:20 (NIV2011)
I have been crucified with
Christ and I no longer live,
but Christ lives in me. The
life I now live in the body,
I live by faith in the Son of
God, who loved me and
gave himself for me.

66. We are
just like
them.

67. We are
NOT
just like

68. Matthew 9:29
(NIV2011)
Then he touched
their eyes and said,
“According to your
faith let it be done

69. Matthew 13:58
(NIV2011)
And he did not do
many miracles there
because of their
lack of faith.

70. Philippians 4:13
(NIV2011)
I can do all this
through him who
gives me