Grumble grumble grumble ...

There are many sins that man has gotten proficient at since the fall, but there seems to be none he performs with more ease than grumbling. Indeed, it may very well have been the first response to the Fall. It is very easy to imagine Adam saying, "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree" in a half mumbled grumble sort of tone. Ever since then, man has continued grumbling. Whether it be Israel in the desert longing for the fleshpots of Egypt, or the apostles in the storm complaining that Our Lord was asleep, it seems that man is truly adept at being miserable in whatever circumstances he finds himself in.

Anybody with a brief knowledge of Facebook would see that this trend from biblical times has indeed continued today. Status updates our often filled with expressions of "bleh" or "ugh", followed by some sort of complaint. But don't get me wrong, I'm not accusing everyone else of this while exempting myself. The last thing I mean to do is grumble about everybody else grumbling. I, too, am more than adept at the art, and I find that I often grumble so much that in order for reality to match up to perception, I would indeed need to be the Cartesian "ego" with the universe revolving around me.

And that really does get to the heart of grumbling: the ego. If grumbling is anything, it really is a matter of pride. It is a reaction to circumstances that we dislike based on the idea "I am owed this" or "My life should be like this." Indeed, a grumble almost always has to do with someone being unjustly injured, whether it be by nature, another person, or the world. However, it's not grumbling simply to point out a wrong. There is great value in saying, "This situation we find ourselves in is wrong," like African American's did during segregation. However, these statements of "I've been wronged" can often become grumbling when we are not actually owed the thing we've been denied. African American's are owed equal treatment; I am not owed praise and adulation from everybody at work when I do my job.

This is why I say that grumbling is most of all a matter of pride; it is based on the assumption than I am more than I am. Statements like "Ugh, my wife is going out tonight, so I have to do the dishes" are based upon the false assumption that I should never have to do dishes (the falseness of this assumption will be readily verified by my wife.) Even grumblings such as "bleh... I am so tired today" are based upon false assumptions - in this case a false belief that I am owed sleep. In fact, though, I am not owed sleep. Sleep is a gift, it is a blessing which I should be thankful for, and when I don't get sleep I should not grumble about it, but instead I should thank God for the other blessings He has given me and move on with my life.

Now, it may seem extreme to say that statements like "I am so tired today" are grumbling and should be avoided, but can we imagine our Lord ever saying this? In fact, I would challenge anybody to find a passage in the Gospels that begins with, "And Jesus grumbled, saying..." Jesus did not grumble. He would speak in love, in joy, in surprise, in exasperation, but not in grumbling. Rather, "like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is dumb, he opened not his mouth" (Isa. 53:7). Even in his most intense suffering, Christ would not complain.

The saints, too, are examples of not grumbling. For instance, when Blessed John Paul II first received the pope-mobile with the glass covering, it is said that as he entered it the door slammed on his finger. Without missing a beat, the pope whispered under his breath, "Thank you God for loving me so much." In the Rule, St. Benedict directly addressed grumbling when talking about obedience saying, "If a disciple obeys grudgingly and grumbles, not only aloud but also in his heart, then even though he carries out the order, his action will not be accepted with favor by God, who sees that he is grumbling in his heart." To be a saint is not to grumble, it is to quickly and speedily do the will of God and accept the blessings and tribulations he give us.

Most importantly, though, grumbling is a deadly hindrance to a life of charity. How are we to greet each person as Christ if we grumble about them to ourselves when they're not around? How are we to perform every work out of love when we are so quick to grumble in our hearts if the task is not to our liking? Simply put, love is stifled by grumbling, because love is stifled by pride. If we are going to progress on the way of holiness, then, we must rip out grumbling from our hearts. We have to cease overestimating what is due to us and begin to rejoice in the blessings we do have. In short, we must learn the truth of what St. Paul says: "God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Cor 9:7).