Throughout the Body of Christ I see many gifts of God at work.  Some are filled with faith, some with compassion, some are apt to teach, encourage, and exhort.  Some are anointed to bring correction when it is needed.  All the gifts are important.  But there is one “gift” I see rampant in the Body that is not of God, and I call it “anointed to whine”.

The Bible says we are to give thanks in all things.  In fact, if you’re praying without first giving thanks, your prayer has “insufficient postage” and will not even be delivered.  It is written in Psalm 100, and I’ll use this entire Psalm in all its length to make my point.  I would encourage you to memorize this Psalm.  Be thankful I didn’t choose Psalm 119, see there’s something to be thankful for already!
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.  Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing.  Know ye that the Lord He is God: it is He that hath made us, not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of His pasture.  Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.  For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations.

I see nothing in that Psalm or anyplace else, for that matter, that says we are to whine about things we are going through.  But yet, much conversation between Christians is nothing more than that.  Not to say I haven’t done it, because I have.  Remember the word “repent”?  Yep, that’s what we could all stand to do when we get to whining about things that we are not happy about.  Hello? Anybody home?

If we would spend more time giving thanks, we would be happier people.  Personally, I think Thanksgiving should be a 365 day a year holiday.  Not that we have much to be thankful for…..I mean, things could be better, right?   I saw a bus going down the road a couple weeks ago with this on the back window: YOUNGER WOMEN, FASTER HORSES, BETTER WHISKEY, MORE MONEY.  I think it belonged to a musician, and judging by the size and grandeur of the bus, I’d say they had a lot to be thankful for.  But still, that person wasn’t satisfied, they still wanted more.  And when have you ever met anyone who was totally satisfied, and didn’t want “MORE”?  

When we get our sights on wanting “more”, we stop being thankful for what we already have, and we fail to see how blessed we are.  Before long, wanting more becomes an emptiness that fills our lives.  Soon, that emptiness becomes bitterness and that leads to whining about what is perceived to be lacking.  It’s not only Christians who are anointed to whine, but non-Christians as well. 

Before whining about what we seem to lack, let’s take inventory to see if somehow, some way, we can come up with at least something to be thankful about.  After all, we want the Father to hear our prayers, right? 
1. We woke up this morning.  That’s more than many less fortunate people did. Those who didn’t wake up would probably trade that for your aches and pains and inconveniences you complain about daily. Thank the Lord for your life.
2. Oh, I gotta go to work, what’s so good about that?  Do you have a job?  Many don’t.  Be thankful to the Lord for your job and consider the alternative…
3. My boss is a tyrant, a real jerk!  Be glad you even have a boss.  If your boss is that bad, then work your fanny off so YOU can be the boss, and show them what a good boss should be.  Give thanks for bosses, without them we would not be very organized.
4. My house is too small, too much work.  The other option is being homeless, speaking of which, has it’s own set of benefits:  no payments or rent, no taxes to pay, no yard to mow, no insurance, maintenance, or housecleaning chores, or driveway to shovel if it snows.  You’re free to move anytime you please and be carefree, and pretty much live anywhere you want.  But don’t whine if your cardboard shelter leaks when it rains.  Be thankful for a roof over your head, however humble it may be.
5. My vehicle is not good enough.  Well, then give it away and walk everywhere!  Someone who cannot afford to buy a vehicle would be happy to have it. The benefit of having no vehicle to complain about includes no vehicle payments, no maintenance costs, license, insurance, tires, or fuel expenses.  Besides, walking is good for you.  Be thankful if you can walk, and even more thankful if you have something to drive.
6. I don’t like who is in office, whether it’s the President, or the dog catcher.  Stop whining about it and run for office and get elected, and make it better.  Then someone can whine about YOU!  Thank God we live in a free Country.
7 Everything costs too much!  The obvious solution? Want a little less and you’ll spend less.  The less you spend, the more you’ll have left (hopefully to give to God’s work)  Be satisfied with what you have.  Use it up, wear it out, and then recycle it. Thank God for whatever He has blessed you with.
8. I don’t feel good.  While I know it isn’t God’s will for any of His children to be ill, I’ll be real blunt here; some people whine about every little ache, not realizing how truly fortunate they are, because some are suffering from terminal conditions with no hope of recovery unless God gives them a miracle.  And miracles stem from thanksgiving.  Thank God that the Lord Jesus bore your sickness and diseases upon His own body for you, whether you feel like it or not.
9. Give thanks for what you have that you’re glad you have, and give thanks for the things you don’t have that you don’t want, like AIDS, or CANCER, or having to live in a war-torn country. Give God thanks if you’re born again, for yours is eternal life with Him.  If you’re not saved, give thanks that you CAN be saved, then receive His salvation!

If you look at your life carefully, you’ll probably have so many things to give thanks to God for, that you could spend your whole day writing a list of them.  Thanksgiving is sort of like a dog chasing his or her tail.  The more you give thanks and chase God, the more He blesses you.  The more He blesses you, the more you thank Him.  And before long, you’ve forgotten what you were whining about.  Sounds like the deal of a lifetime to me!

Sometimes I have to remind myself of how very much God has blessed me.  Instead of looking at my glass as being half empty, I remind myself it is half full, and it’s usually half full only because I have already drank the first half.  By the time I’ve drank it all, God will fill it up again, anyway, so what could I possibly have to whine about?  Rather, I thank God for His goodness and mercy that is new each day.  He is so GOOD to us!

So let’s be more anointed in thanksgiving, and less anointed to whine.  Everyone wins.