Have you noticed how some people are always grumbling? ( St. Paisios )

Have you noticed how some people are always grumbling? I have a good friend who always begins his story about his latest trip by telling me endlessly about all the problems he had with the airlines. Now, I have traveled a lot and have not normally had any particular difficulties other than an occasional delay or a lost bag, but generally I am thankful that the flight gets me from point A to point B in a very short time without much to be concerned about. But why is it that this person always has such dire troubles when he travels? My only conclusion is that he is simply a grumbler. It's the way he looks at the world and therefore experiences it an a negative way.

This attitude can be very dangerous for our spiritual well being. Negative thoughts can fill our minds and corrupt our view of the goodness that is all around us. We are not able to see and experience God's grace for us.

Elder Paisos tells a story about this issue.

I knew two farmers in Epirus. One of them was a family man who had a couple of small fields and who entrusted everything to God. He worked, as much as he could, without anxiety. He would say, "I'll do as much as I can manage." Occasionally, some of the hay bales would spoil in the rain because he didn't gather them in time, while other bales were scattered by the wind; and yet for all things he would say, "Glory to you, O God!" and everything went well for him. The other farmer had many fields, cows, and so on, but no children. If you asked him, "how are you doing?"; he would invariably respond, "Forget about it; don't even ask!" He never said, "Glory to You, O God"; he was always grumbling. And so that you will see -- sometimes a cow of his would die; sometimes one thing would happen to him, sometimes something else. He had everything, but he made no progress. So what is the spiritual message here? If we are bound up with negative thoughts all the time we will never recognize God's blessings. We become separated from God. As Elder Paisios puts it, "How are we to taste God's blessings, if He gives us, for example, bananas and we're thinking of whatever better things some ship-owner might be eating?" Those who accept what God's gives them with thanks, develop a spiritual sensitivity and are able to know and experience God's love for them. Those who continually grumble miss His energies that are always their to comfort and guide them. They live blind to God bound up by their own negative thoughts.

As the Elder puts its, "We don't understand that happiness is in eternity and not in vanity."

Reference: Elder Paisios of Mount Athos Spiritual Counsels IV: Family LIfe, p 158

Grumbling ( Archimandrite Seraphim Aleksiev )

Have you noticed how often we find ourselves grumbling about this or that? It seems that it is our nature to complain about something.


Archimandrite Seraphim Aleksiev writes,

Grumbling is like the autumn hoarfrost which, when it falls, destroys all the labors of the gardener. Few people realize how bad grumbling is for the soul. Almost everyone considers it to a small sin, but even though it seems so, it has very grievous consequences. In the autumn before the hoarfrost falls, the experienced gardeners notice the signs of the coming cold weather and urge their young helpers to gather the peppers and the tomatoes. the young ones laugh: "Why should we gather them? the weather is still so nice!" Then the next morning they see th first frost has come over the gardens. they pick up a pepper and take a bite to taste it, but it is as bitter as poison and cannot be eaten. Thus their small carelessness has destroyed all their labors. In the same way grumbling withers all the virtues of the soul and makes bitter and useless the fruits of suffering.Why is this so dangerous? God gives us difficulties and problems to help us come closer to Him. This is His only aim. He wants us to be united with Him. But when something is not just how we like it, we grumble instead of giving thanks to God. You see, we turn away from Him rather than towards Him to seek strength and direction. This is the danger of all our grumbles. When we grumble we have separated ourselves from God. When we grumble we are not pleasant to others. As Alekiev says, "grumbling withers all the virtues of the soul."





Not grumbling, but patience in suffering––this is what God wants from us. "In your patience possess ye your souls" (Luke 21:19), the Savior has instructed us, because "we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22). Into this Kingdom of God one cannot enter with pride which teaches us to grumble, but with humility which makes us patient. There are no greater teachers of patience that sorrows. This is precisely why God sends us suffering: so that we will humble ourselves before Him. No one has been saved by pride, because "God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble" (1 Peter 5:5). The doors of the Kingdom of Heaven are too low and narrow for the proud to enter through them; only those humbled by the sufferings of life can go through them freely.

I cant tell you how often my wife and I will find ourselves in the car on the way to church grumbling about so many little things. When we are lucky, one of us catches our plight and says, "Let's thank God." This always awakens us to our sorrowful state.


A good exercise is to examine your grumbles––just for one day. Look at what it is you grumble about and reflect on why God set this discomfort in front of you. See if you can find a way to give thanks to God for all He sends you. How can you draw strength from your relationship with Him. I think you will find this to be a rewarding exercise.


Remember, God did not promises us that we would not have difficulties. But He did promise that He would give us help and comfort.


“In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)


Ref: The Meaning of Suffering and Strife & Reconciliation, p 35, 39