“Turns out at least some of our complaining isn’t justified.”

A thought by Kyle Idleman from his book, Don't Give Up (p. 66). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Wait a minute, that can’t be true, can it?

Kyle says, “People with a victim mentality tend to whine and complain. They feel powerless to change, so they lament their circumstances. They focus on what’s wrong and ignore what’s right. They can offer exhaustive lists of the ways they’ve been treated unfairly and gotten the short end of the stick.

“Journalist James Glassman declares that a ‘culture of complaint’ has infected America. For instance, we complain about low incomes, high food prices, and the outsourcing of jobs. However:

• Adjusting for inflation, compensation has tripled since 1947, while the cost of necessities has plummeted.
• Food in 1950 represented about one-third of a family’s total expenditures; today, it’s one-seventh.
• Americans work fewer hours and have more cars, cultural institutions, and children in college than ever before.” 

He then says, “Turns out at least some of our complaining isn’t justified. I have a feeling a lot of the rest of it isn’t either.

“A whiny, complaining spirit is a dangerous quality because it leads to quitting. You can tell when someone is close to quitting a job because they constantly complain. Think about going on what promises to be a long hike with someone who starts whining and complaining during the first mile. It’s too hot. I’m getting hungry. These shoes aren’t very comfortable. My knee is starting to hurt. I’m getting eaten up by mosquitoes.

“It’s not going to be long before you hear, I’m done. Let’s go back.”

I hope you’re not going down that path.  I think it would be a good thing to go down the path of gratitude, don’t you?

Yes, yes!